


Nova Vita

by shannyfish



Series: "Tempus" Re-Write Series [2]
Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen, Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-05
Updated: 2011-12-18
Packaged: 2017-10-26 23:00:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 30,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/288839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shannyfish/pseuds/shannyfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Magnus, Druitt, and Tesla are captured.  A group (possibly the Cabal) capture them and attempt to find a way to reproduce a super abnormal from source blood parents.  Takes place after “Neutiquam Erro”.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Delicate Situation

**Author's Note:**

> Season 1-3 is fair for sure, if I have spoilers for 4, it’s by complete accident.

Chapter 1 – “A Delicate Situation”

 

Icy cold bit at her body. Wind whipped through and chilled her skin even more. Tiny hairs all over stood up. A shiver ran through her as she opened her eyes. Her skin was bare, no coverings to provide her any warmth. Looking upward, a bar-covered opening to the outside world was what was providing her with the unwelcoming chill. Looking around, the fact that she was in a cell of some kind was apparent.

The ground beneath her was packed earth, which didn’t help as far as warmth went. Getting to her feet, she found that she was a bit wobbly. She made it to the area by the door that was inside the cell. It was far enough away from the opening, so that she was able to hold some warmth in her body. Sitting back down, she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Her head rested against her knees and she tried to keep conscious.

Startled from unconsciousness by the loud creak of the metal door, she peeked up and hugged her knees tighter to her body. Two men of differing sizes were pushed into the door. One was rather tall and bald while the other was shorter with spiky hair. They were both wearing lighted collars and suddenly the thought crossed her mind…no, there was no weight around her neck. Why not her?

The door was pulled close with a loud bang and locked. She could hear the sounds of locks falling into place. It took a moment, but the men quickly caught sight of her. She lowered her head back down and tried to be invisible. She shivered again and squeezed her eyes shut.

“Helen?”

A coat was draped over her. She looked up to see the bald man looking quite worried about her. Was that her name? Helen? Did he know her? She looked to the other man. He looked concerned as well. The coat did help with warmth. She wished it were just more. She pulled it close though and tried to push the shivers away.

“Helen? Say something…”

“Who are you?” she finally asked.

The bald man straightened, stared at her, and then took a step back. The other man just stared at her. She could tell that they were both taken aback at her question. They obviously thought that she should know them. She was confused and a little ashamed. If these were her friends, then she really wasn’t comforting them in this bleak situation.

“Helen, I’m John Druitt,” the tall man told her quietly.

“Nikola Tesla,” the other man said with some irritation.

“My name…is Helen?” she asked.

The both tilted their heads a bit. She looked down for a moment and then back up for them after a few moments of silence passed. There was obvious tension in the air. The taller man crouched down in front of her. He still looked extremely concerned. The other man was examining the cell.

“What did they do to you?” the tall man asked. She didn’t respond. After a few silent moments, he spoke up again. “Your name is Helen Magnus. The three of us have known each other for a very long time…”

“I don’t remember anything…” she whispered. He looked even more concerned now. He reached out towards her, but she sunk back as far as she could. These men obviously knew her, but she didn’t know if they could be trusted. Honestly, she didn’t even know if she could trust that Helen Magnus was her name.

“Are you injured?” Druitt asked.

It took her a moment to process his question. She hadn’t really stopped to think about that. She did hurt here and there, but she couldn’t be sure if that meant that she was injured. “I…I don’t know…”

Druitt moved closer to her, still crouched. “Let me look you over, Helen.”

“Yes, let the man you don’t remember examine your naked body,” Tesla spoke up. “If Helen was in her right mind, I highly doubt she’d allow you to examine her and ogle her feminine treasures.”

Thoughts ran through her head. She tried to process all the information and kept her body tight pulled up and away. Helen Magnus sounded right to her, she wasn’t sure what inside her told her it was correct, but there was something that told her that it was correct. The strange fact that these two were supposed to be her friends…she wanted to fight that, but she felt truth there. She trusted them both, she wasn’t sure why. Why was it that they remembered and she didn’t though? She didn’t understand that. Shouldn’t they all either remember or not?

“Helen, I promise you…I will not hurt you,” Druitt told her gently. “I just want to ensure that you have no injuries…”

“I…I think I’m okay,” she said as she thought over what she felt. “I’m just sore…and cold… I think that’s to be expected…”

Druitt removed his suspenders from his shoulders and allowed them to fall. He pulled his button-up shirt from his pants and started to unbutton it. “Let’s get you at least something to help cover you.”

“Are you going to strip and give her the rest of your clothing as well?” Tesla asked from behind. He seemed amused by the situation but there was also the sense of fear.

The shirt was held out to her. She tentatively reached out for it. She would appreciate having something more to cover her. Druitt was so tall that she hoped that his shirt would cover a bit more than just her torso. She held onto it and then tried to think of how she was going to put it on without revealing too much of herself. Even if she knew them, she doubted that they’d both seen her in such a state before.

“Ignore him,” Druitt urged. “He tends to be far more unbearable when he’s mortified and distressed by something like our capture.”

“You make it sound like it’s unreasonable to be embarrassed by something like that!” Tesla spoke up. “Us! All three of us, in fact! I’m Nikola Tesla for God’s sake! I’m a vampire! It shouldn’t have been so easy for them to capture us! I mean…Helen, maybe…but then I am quite surprised to see her here… She usually gives people a good run for their money.”

Druitt sighed and gently pulled the shirt from her grasp. He straightened it a bit so that he could hold it so that she could slide her arms into the sleeves. He held it up and slowly helped her into the shirt, once it was around her; he helped her to her feet.

There was something about him; she wasn’t really sure what it was. She felt comfortable with him doing what she was doing. He buttoned up the shirt and she was grateful that he seemed to be merely concerned with getting her clothed rather than what lay beneath the thin fabric that was now covering her.

He bent down and retrieved the leather coat that had been previously the only thing to cover Helen. He shook it a bit to ensure all dirt was off it of that it may have collected on the ground. Druitt held it out as he had the shirt and helped her so that she was encased in the coat. Luckily, the coat was long in length and covered even more of her body compared to the flimsy shirt. He secured a couple of buttons and then stepped back.

“I hope that keeps you a little warmer,” Druitt says.

“Thank you,” Helen whispered. She had to admit she was warmer. She was far more comfortable in their presence as well which she was thankful for. The other man, Tesla, was still pacing. He still didn’t look too happy, but apparently that was to be expected.

Tesla let out an exasperated sigh. “You fix Johnny good as new and then suddenly you’re sweethearts again… When do I get a break?”

“Do you love Helen?” Druitt asked Tesla.

“Of course I do,” Tesla told him, quite matter-of-factly. “It’s Helen. Who doesn’t love her? Honestly, we should just be thankful that the source blood didn’t increase her charm. Of The Five, the four of us would have been completely under her control… Slaves of Helen Magnus…”

“What is he going on about?” she asked Druitt.

“He’s just being Tesla…” Druitt responded.

“Oh sure, make fun of the vampire… You know, if I didn’t have this damn collar on me, we’d be out of here by now,” Tesla went on.

“Oh, I would have teleported Helen and myself out the first chance I had,” Druitt told him. “And then left you here to figure things out…”

Tesla glared at him. “I see how it is…”

“Are you always like this? Both of you?” Helen asked. She’d remained quiet and observed them both for a moment, but honestly she was at a disadvantage as far as knowing who they were or how they actually acted. Without her memories she was going to have to trust in them…which she wasn’t sure if it was honestly a good idea or not. “Like adolescent children?”

“Well, at least we know she’s herself…even if she doesn’t remember,” Tesla remarked.

Druitt frowned. “Tesla just knows how to rub me the wrong way.” He looked back to her, eyes sincere. “I’m sorry, Helen… I know this must be quite confusing for you.”

“Do we know what they want?” she asked. She figured that that was a good point to start with. They’d already covered the fact that Tesla was completely mortified with being captured, but she’d also seen fear there. From what she’d observed, fear wasn’t something that either of them normally would protrude.

“They want us,” Tesla said quite quickly. “We’re the last of The Five. They want super soldiers…and unless there are other progeny out there that I don’t know about…that just leaves the three of us.”

“The Five?” she asked.

“A group of us… We took ancient blood that gave us all powers of sorts…” John tried to explain. “We’re the only ones left.”

“This is going to be like the whole Ashley incident, except worse,” Tesla said.

John glared up at Tesla. “Don’t say that.”

“I don’t know what he means,” Helen admitted.

“That’s probably for the best, sadly,” Tesla commented.

John got to his feet and shoved him against the closest wall. “This isn’t funny! None of this is! We’re being held captive! They’ve erased Helen’s memories! They obviously have nefarious plans for us! How can you possibly find amusement in our situation?!”

“I thought Helen had cured you of your temper,” Tesla said calmly.

“John! Please!” Helen said as she got to her feet and reached out and touched his back. With her other hand, she kept the shirt and jacket that served as her only clothing close to her body.

“Don’t worry, Helen,” Tesla babbled on, still being held against the wall by John. “Johnny here won’t kill me…not anymore at least. It’s not like I’m threatening your life, then he’d actually have cause to kill me…murderous energy elemental or not.”

“John,” Helen said, trying to reason with him. “Nikola isn’t going to harm me… He’s just being obnoxious… I assume that’s normal for him.”

John glared at Tesla one more time before letting him go. “Mind your tongue,” John warned him.

Tesla straightened his clothes and then moved to the other side of the cell. “So protective of Helen… I thought you’d be used to my—“

“Adverse personality and your constant ability to make advances on Helen?” John completed.

“I wouldn’t say it like that…”

. . .

TBC…


	2. Things Could Be Worse, Right?

Chapter 2 – “Things Could Be Worse, Right?”

 

“How long have we been here?” she asked. She was shivering. The cold had dissipated but another storm had come in the night before. The taller man, Druitt, had tried to help keep her warm. She hadn’t wanted to be touched, but then she had to allow him…he was freezing and he’d given her his warmer layers. There was a bit of snow below the opening the ceiling. They’d all been staying huddled near the door and out of the arctic breeze (or at least as best they could do).

“I lost track of time,” Druitt admitted.

“At least a day…or two,” Tesla spoke up from where he stood on the other side of the door. He’d stayed away from them, but she’d noticed that he’d kept an eye on them. She wasn’t sure why.

She tried to control and stop the shivering, but it wouldn’t pass. “Do…do…does anyone know where we are?”

“In a cell?”

Druitt sighed. “Tesla…” He pulled her closer and ran his hand along her arm. “There’s snow. That does limit it somewhat.”

“How does it limit it?” Tesla snapped. “Given the time of year, there are enough places that even if I could put out some kind of bat signal that says we’re in a cell and we’re cold and there’s snow…they’d never find us…”

“You need proper clothing,” Druitt told her. “I don’t know why they dumped you in here without your clothes…they can’t hope that you’ll die from exposure, it doesn’t make sense.”

“You never know, they just might want to see how creative we can get in order to stay warm,” Tesla suggested.

Helen felt Druitt’s hand leave her arm. She reached out and grabbed his hand and then looked up into his eyes. “Thank you…for trying…”

“I’m not going to let you die, Helen,” he said and got to his feet. Druitt approached the door and looked it over for a moment before he started to pound on it. He didn’t stop with just a few pounds either, he just kept continuing.

“Johnny…” Tesla spoke up.

She got to her feet and stared at him as Druitt continued to pound. “It’s okay…please…” she said quietly. Her arms were tightly wrapped around herself and her hands were kept safely inside the longer sleeve. She was still shivering and she found that she really wasn’t sure if her legs could hold her own weight for long. Helen was mainly worried about him. She didn’t want him to get into trouble for trying to help her.

He continued to pound and she noticed that blood was on the door. She reached out and grabbed him. “John! Stop!” she yelled as she pulled him back away from the door as best she could.

“They can’t just leave us in here to die!” he yelled at the door.

“John, please…” Helen begged as she held onto him. He had tried to get back to the door, but he stopped when she almost fell backwards. Instead, he caught her and held her close. “I’ll be okay a while longer…” she promised.

Tesla sighed. “She’s lying…we both know that, John. And if anyone can lie to the both of us and get away with it normally it would be her…” Tesla took his turn at the door. He slammed the palm of his hands against it and yelled.

The noise echoed in the cell and John set her down in the front corner of the cell where they had been before. “I hear something,” he announced as he turned to Tesla. “They’re coming…”

“I am irresistible,” Tesla told Druitt with a grin after he stopped slamming his hand against the door.

“Maybe we could overpower them,” Druitt suggested.

Helen shook her head even though neither were looking at her. “The collars around your necks… They inhibit your abilities…but they may do more…”

“Are you saying that put shock collars around our necks?” Tesla asked.

“It is possible.”

The door was opened and she watched as they both moved back away from it. An armed group entered, guns were pointed at all of them. Another entered behind the group and they made a hole for him to stand in so that he could address him. He was middle-aged and had a hard face. “You’ve been so quiet the last few days…are you not enjoying your stay with us?”

“Where exactly are we?” Tesla asked far too calmly.

“At my facility,” the man responded simply.

“And you are?”

“You can call me Smith.”

“Really? Smith?” Tesla scoffed.

Smith looked around and his eyes settled on her. “I’m surprised you both covered her up so quickly… Not what I would have done in your shoes…”

“She needs clothing…and blankets,” Druitt spoke up.

“Perhaps,” Smith said as he looked back to Druitt. “It depends on you two honestly.”

“Us?” Tesla asked. “What do we need to do in order for you to hand over clothing and blankets…and food and water would be good too.”

Smith smiled at them all. “We know who you all are. Last of a mutated group. You call it source blood…” Smith paused and looked back to Helen. His eyes made her involuntarily shiver. The look he gave her scared her. “We can make your accommodations much more comfortable but we want something…”

“What. Do. You. Want?” Druitt asked, snapping at each word.

“We want a child…from two source blood parents,” Smith told them.

Silence fell.

Helen looked between Smith and where Tesla and Druitt stood. She wasn’t entirely sure she knew what that meant…she thought she did, but she was sure that there was a story behind it. Something she didn’t remember.

“You don’t need a child from us,” Tesla told them. “Just talk to the Cabal…they have some process—“

“We don’t want their super soldiers,” Smith spoke up. “We have different plans for the child. We don’t care who the father is, we just want the child.” Before anyone else could speak up, Smith turned to one of his men. “Get them what they want. Blankets, clothing, food, and water…for now.” He turned back to Druitt and Tesla. “Cooperate and we’ll make things more comfortable.”

The guards started to disappear in a strategized manner. The door was slammed shut and the sound of the lock could be heard quite loudly. Silence filled the room. She watched as Tesla and Druitt exchanged looks.

“They can’t be serious,” Tesla said a moment later.

“I think they’re quite serious,” Druitt said.

“Obviously either one of us would produce a strong offspring with Helen,” Tesla said. “Mine would obviously be more powerful.” Tesla pointed to himself. “Vampire, remember?”

“You’re not touching her,” Druitt told him.

“I think it’s quite adorable that you two have this on again, off again relationship and that no matter what you’re always running after her,” Tesla said. “Though I have to say if Helen was in her right mind I don’t think she’d pick you in all honestly. We’ve been getting a lot closer.”

Druitt sneered at him. “This whole thing is sick… Even if a child was conceived, we’re not letting them take the child…or Helen.”

“Agreed.”

Helen got to her feet and used the wall as a way to brace herself so she wouldn’t fall. Her legs were still shaky and she was starting to lose feeling. “Excuse me, are you two going to even include me in this conversation? I believe it’s only right since you’re talking about me right in front of me. Or are you two going to try to produce a child between yourselves?”

“Well, you’re not exactly you,” Tesla pointed out.

She frowned at him. “It’s still my uterus.”

“You certainly have a point there…”

Druitt turned to her. “Whatever is decided…we all agree not to let them take the child.”

“Agreed,” Tesla said quickly.

Helen nodded. “Agreed.”

The door creaked and moaned as it was pushed open once again. A group of armed guards appeared again. One moved forward and set a stack of clothes and a pair of shoes in front of them. He was handed a stack of blankets, which he set down next to the clothes. “Food will be in soon,” he announced before they left.

Druitt didn’t wait for the door to close before ushering over the clothing and blankets for her. She gladly accepted them. There wasn’t exactly privacy here and though she apparently knew these men, she didn’t feel like being naked around them. There were no undergarments, but a simple pair of pants, shirt, socks, coat, and shoes. She pulled on the pants first and then sat down to put on the socks and shoes. She couldn’t wait to feel a bit warmer.

She tried to rub some heat into her foot before she pulled the sock on and then the shoe. Helen knew that she was going to remain chilled even with the clothes covering her skin, but she wanted to at least try to give her body a jump-start at warming. Her upper half had remained covered, so she was mostly warm except for her legs and feet.

“Better?” Druitt asked.

Nodding, she got to her feet. “I just need a moment of privacy,” she told him as she shrugged off the long coat he’d allowed her to use.

“We’re all friends here, Helen,” Tesla said.

Rolling her eyes, she held open the jacket and handed it to Druitt. “Can you hold it up but not look?”

Druitt smiled. “Yes.”

“He’s definitely seen you naked before,” Tesla said. “Unless you two reproduced some other way!”

She stopped and stared at Druitt and noticed that his smile fell. “We have a child?” she asked quietly.

“No,” Druitt said just as quietly. She could hear sadness in his voice. “We had a child. A daughter. Ashley. People like the ones that are holding us called the Cabal…they took her from us and made her into something else…a super soldier.”

Helen tried to take that in and found herself feeling the sorrow. Ashley. She suddenly got flashes of her daughter. She remembered her. Tears formed in her eyes and streamed down her face. She fell a step back and caught herself on the wall. “Ashley…” she breathed, trying to hold in sobs.

Druitt dropped the jacket and moved towards her. “You remember?” he asked, his voice still laced with sadness.

He reached out to touch her and she held out her hand to stop him. When her skin came into contact with his, she remembered his touch. She remembered him. She remembered the past, 1886. She remembered all the happy times and all the dark times. She remembered that she had done a procedure to pull the energy elemental from inside of him. “John,” she whispered and looked up into his eyes. This was why he was so familiar. They’d been through so much together…

“There you are,” John whispered back to her and caressed her face.

“And look at that! My comment brought all of Helen’s memories flooding back!” Tesla gloated from where he’d been standing.

“Not all of them, I’m afraid,” she told him. “I remember bits and pieces of my life… I remember Ashley…and I remember John…but not you.” Helen looked over at Tesla, who looked absolutely heartbroken at her comment. “I’m sorry…”

“I’ll come back to you,” Tesla told her. His voice wasn’t as confident or arrogant as it had been before. “I’m irresistible and unforgettable…you’re probably just saving the best for last is all.”

Druitt helped her up and he held up the coat again. “Go on and change…you’ll be warmer,” Druitt said and looked away.

Helen quickly unbuttoned the shirt that she’d been wearing and let it fall to the floor before pulling on the shirt and then coat she’d been provided. She bent down and retrieved the discarded shirt and tapped John’s shoulder. When he turned back to her, she handed him his shirt back. “Thank you for the loan.”

“You are quite welcome,” Druitt told her as he handed her his jacket and pulled his shirt back on.

She watched as he buttoned up his shirt and she went over what had happened since she’d encountered them both in the cell. John had been a complete gentlemen towards her, which was still a little odd for her. His jacket was returned to him once his shirt was buttoned and re-tucked and his suspenders were back in place.

“You sure you’re warm enough?” Druitt asked.

“You need to warm up yourself,” Helen told him. He gave her a look that told her that she hadn’t actually answered his question “I’ll be fine. We have blankets,” she pointed out as she motioned towards the blankets.

Tesla let out a rather loud sigh. “Really? We’re back to this? Why don’t you two just get a room and get it over with?”

Helen looked at John. She didn’t think she could do this. Honestly, she didn’t think emotionally that she could deal with it. Maybe if she didn’t have her memories it would be different, but to remember Ashley… To remember the pain of losing her. The pain of seeing what they’d done to her daughter. She wouldn’t lose another child. She wouldn’t allow this group that had kidnapped them to do the same kind of experimentation on another child like the Cabal had done to Ashley.

“I can’t,” she barely could get out calmly.

John stared at her. “We could…have another child.”

“No,” she argued. “I won’t allow a child…let alone an infant…to be experimented on like Ashley was…”

“Do you really think I’d allow an infant to come to harm?”

“They have captured all three of us, John. You and Tesla can’t use your abilities… Obviously they’re fairly capable.” Helen shook her head. “Even IF we attempted to conceive a child to appease them for now, there’s no guarantee that we could successfully escape.”

“It would give us a good nine months,” Tesla offered with a shrug.

“That’s if they don’t start their experimentation in utero,” Helen pointed out.

Druitt sighed and looked around. “There has to be a way out. We’re just not giving it enough thought.”

Helen shook her head. “We don’t know how big this facility is or how many men stand between us and the front door…and we don’t even know WHERE in the world we are…”

“Someone’s awfully pessimistic today,” Tesla complained. “Things could be worse, right? They’re going to feed us…and apparently keep us comfortable…and all they want us to do is—“

“We’re not going to do that!” Helen argued quickly.

Telsa moved towards where she and John were. He didn’t look very pleased. “Fine. If you’re not going to cooperate then they’ll do it the hard way. It’s obvious. They’ll come in here and drag you away…John and I won’t be able to protect you if they take you away. They erased your memories…even if it was temporary…and threw you in this cell naked…do you really think that’s the worse they’ll do?”

“Nikola,” John scolded.

“No!” Tesla shouted at Druitt. “I’m not going to coddle her! When has she ever needed coddling?” He was definitely pissed at her. He advanced quickly towards her and pushed her hard against the wall behind her, pushing breath from her body. “You may not be one hundred percent our Helen Magnus, but if you want to survive and live another century I suggest you figure things out! We’ve been in tougher situations and I’m not going to let your naïve current mindset get us all killed!”

Druitt yanked Tesla off of her and pushed him across the room. “I told you not to touch her!” he yelled.

“Are we really going to do this?” Tesla asked.

“I don’t think you actually can without your vampire abilities,” Druitt antagonized.

“Nikola! John! Enough!” Helen found herself shouting.

Things were coming back to her. Tesla, she knew who he was. She was happy that that hole had filled; it made it easier to deal with him. Helen looked at them both as they stared back at her. “It’s coming back to me,” she said quietly. “But that doesn’t mean that the choice I have to make—“

“We have to make,” Tesla corrected.

“No, Nikola,” she said quickly. “If we decide that trying to conceive another source blood child is a good idea to buy us more time then the decision is solely mine. Last I checked, I was the only one in this room who could carry a child.”

“Good to see you’re back,” was Tesla’s only response.

Helen stared at them both before looking down and sighing. This wasn’t easy. She looked back at them. “Now, let’s try to see if we can’t find a way to remove those collars,” she suggested. It was something. Something to keep them all occupied and something that was actually productive to the idea of trying to escape.

. . .

 

TBC…


	3. Decisions Must Be Made

Chapter 3 – “Decisions Must Be Made”

 

The sound of something up above them, brought all of their attentions upward. “Rescue attempt?” Helen asked. The cold wind, snow the fell through, and the blue sky were quickly covered. She frowned for a moment. Though she wouldn’t miss the intense cold, she’d liked being able to see the sky.

“Guess that’s a no,” Tesla responded.

“At least it’ll get warmer in here,” Druitt commented.

Tesla sighed. “That just means that they mean what they said. They’re going to feed us and keep us caged up here as long as they possibly can…”

“At least we’re not alone,” Helen pointed out.

“Small comforts, Helen.”

Druitt shook his head. “I swear, Nikola wouldn’t care either way… He likes the sound of his own voice… He just has the added advantages of arguing with us and leering at you,” he said as he turned to Helen.

“I wouldn’t call it leering,” Tesla said. “Leering has such negative connotations. I like to think of it as appreciating natural beauty.”

She honestly felt relived that she had them both there even if she had to break up fights between them here and there. They kept things from becoming far too intense and bleak. She’d thought she’d seen bleak when she’d returned to the Sanctuary after seeing the perfect world she’d changed… She was glad she had company.

“The longer we’re here, the more chances we’ll have to hopefully figure out a way to escape and to assess their defenses,” Helen told them. “I know this doesn’t look good for us, but I think we should see the hope in that.”

“Are you considering the flat of water bottles they left as hope?” Tesla asked in irritation.

“It’s one of the things that’s brightened things, yes,” she admitted. “They’re feeding us. They’re trying to keep us more comfortable,” Helen told him as she motioned upward.

“They still want the same thing,” Druitt spoke up.

“There is that.”

. . .

Time seemed to pass and yet not. Without a way to keep track of time, all they could do was to guess as to how much time had passed. She doubted that a request for a clock would be appreciated or fulfilled. They’d checked to see if the grate above them that had been covered would budge, but it wouldn’t. The door didn’t seem to have any ways to open it from the inside. Their best chance was going to be attack when they came in for something or if they were being transported out of that cell.

The door opened and they all got to their feet. Another armed group entered and formed a half circle around the door. The man that wanted to simply be called Smith stepped forward. He seemed overly smug today. “So…I trust you’ve had enough time to discuss things? You’ve made a decision?”

“Actually,” Helen spoke up. “I need just a bit more time.”

He didn’t look pleased. Smith held up a small device. “I’m sure you’ve guessed that the collars can do more than just keep your abilities are bay.” He looked at the small device as if he were studying it. “It neutralizes abilities, they have GPS built in just in case, and can aid in…persuasion.”

“That’s not necessary,” Helen told him quickly.

Helen watched in horror as both Tesla and John dropped to their knees in pain. They were both trying to pull the collars off. That was apparent. Tears formed in her eyes and she looked back at Smith. “Stop! Please! It’s not their fault! I’m the one who needs the additional time!” she shouted.

She relaxed a moment later when she saw them both relax. She was certain that neither had screamed in order to be strong and also to hold onto their dignity. Helen moved over to check on them both. Both waved her away, but seemed fine. They stood after a moment, which made her feel a little better.

“Please,” Helen said as she turned to Smith. “Just a bit more time.”

“Fine. It’s not going to be much additional time, though,” Smith told her. “Think quickly…and correctly.”

She nodded and looked over to John and Nikola. It was a big decisions, she needed the time. It hadn’t been fair of Smith to harm them, but she didn’t think that they were going to be upset with her. They left quickly and slammed the door on their way out. “I’m so sorry,” she told them.

“It’s not your fault that he has to compensate for other areas of inadequacies,” Tesla told her matter-of-factly with a smirk firmly in place.

Helen couldn’t help but smile at him. “I know we honestly really don’t have another option and no choice in this matter,” she told them a bit more serious a moment later. She sighed and stared down at her hands. It still scared the hell out of her.

The memories of what had been done to Ashley and being attacked by her own daughter still haunted her. The memory of Ashley prevailing at the end haunted her even more. How she wished she could have changed things…if she’d only been able to change small things instead of so many…maybe she could have saved Ashley somehow…

“You have to be okay with this decision, Helen,” John told her.

Looking up at her, she knew what he meant. She knew that he was only looking out for her. “It’s more acceptance rather than being okay with it…” she told him. Helen honestly knew that…she had to accept things how they were. “I can accept that this is our only option, but I don’t have to like it…”

“You’re still worried about what they’ll do with the child,” John said.

Helen nodded. “Yes. They obviously specifically wanted both parents to have source blood. They’re doing this for a reason. A specific one. If they wanted a super soldier they could just use the same protocols that the Cabal followed.”

“No clean slates anymore,” Tesla pointed out. “Though, I suppose…it wouldn’t be too difficult for them to manufacture new clean slates…” He sighed. “Whatever happened to people sticking to trying to better the world rather than taking over or destroying everything?”

Helen looked at Tesla with a bit of shock. “Did you just really say that?”

“I know, a bit surprising…”

The door swung open and the room was flooded with more armed guards than they’d seen in there. One of them grabbed Helen and started to drag her out. She fought and the other guards had to keep Druitt and Tesla in place. The two men yelled in protest and Helen tried to wiggle to freedom but to no avail.

“Let her go!” Druitt yelled!

“I will have my answer,” Smith told them as he appeared right as they pulled Helen from the room.

“So give her a chance to speak!” Tesla told him.

. . .

TBC…


	4. What The Future Looks Like

Chapter 4 – “What the Future Looks Like”

 

Helen was hauled off to a room. It wasn’t like the one she had been held in, it was far warmer and obviously farther into the facility. Her wrists and ankles her bound and she had been set down in a chair. Her wrists ached behind her back; the ties holding her wrists together were digging into her flesh. There wasn’t anything special about the room. Nothing to give her any ideas as to why they had her there.

The door opened, the sound was much softer than the door to the room she’d been in before. Smith walked through and closed the door behind him. He was alone. “I’m sorry I had to pull you away from your friends, Doctor Magnus, but it seemed necessary. We need to discuss what will happen…”

“You could have just asked me,” Helen snapped. “I was ready to tell you.”

“I needed this time with you in order to talk to you about what I want,” Smith told her. “Maybe it’s partially to put your mind at ease.” He slowly paced the room, turning to her occasionally. “I want you to be as comfortable as possible with everything.”

“I doubt that’s possible,” she spat.

“I don’t want super soldiers, I know you think that’s a possibility,” Smith told her. “We don’t want what the Cabal produced years ago… We simply want to further evolution by bettering the genetic pool.” Smith stopped and turned to her. “We’ve been doing medical studies here…abnormal physiology is far more resilient than the normal human. That’s all we want… My scientists think this can help cure disease and in the future, prevent it.”

“So, you want me to have a child in order for you to experiment on in order to make the future better?” Helen asked. She was angry, but that was mostly because she’d been dragged off. He hadn’t touched her and he hadn’t threatened her yet, which was good for him. “Tell me. Do you have children? Would you allow them to be experimented on in such a way?”

“I understand your concern, Doctor Magnus,” Smith said as he began to pace again. “Now, you must consider this. Either way, I will have a child of two source blood parents. It’s ultimately up to you. Either you cooperate or I’ll be forced to have your ovum removed and then select what I need from Druitt or Tesla and find a surrogate. You’d never see that child. If you cooperate, I promise you that you’ll be able to not only choose the father but also be close to the child. I won’t have it ripped from your arms when it’s born.”

Helen just stared at him. Her anger was growing. The thought of knowing that somewhere out there was a child, her child, but never to see it or to love it. It was even more heartbreaking… And who would know how many ovum they would extract from her. For all she would know, there would be more than one child of hers out in the world being experimented on.

She closed her eyes as she thought about it. She’d already known that they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Helen had already made the decision and had told herself she’d protect the child no matter what. She’d even decided on the father. She’d already told herself that everything would work out. The Sanctuary teams were already looking for her. They’d find them soon enough.

“I want your word that no experimentation will be done before the child is born,” Helen spoke up after a moment. “And that these experimentations are to be as noninvasive as possible.” She opened her eyes and looked to him for a response. She needed to hear more than his words; she needed to see his reaction and his body language.

Smith nodded. “That is fair. I know that with you being a doctor…and your age…you know far more about this than my scientists do, but I assure you…we do not wish to bring harm to the child. We will only require samples and scans. Nothing else.”

This man couldn’t be trusted, she knew that. She also knew that right now there was a strong possibility that she could take him and escape from the room. Honestly, she could probably escape from the building, but she didn’t think she’d be able to make it to John and Nikola and take care of their collars. And though she was certain that they’d both understand her escaping and then getting back up, she didn’t feel like they’d be treated well if she did so.

Right now, she had to play along. She had to do things that she honestly deep down didn’t want to do. She had to put her heart out on the line and have faith. “Then I’ll cooperate,” she said quite quietly.

This was the only way.

She knew that.

It was still heartbreaking.

“I know what the Cabal did to your daughter, you know…” Smith told her. “I’m sure you and the others must think that those are my plans as well.” He closed the distance between them. “That’s not the case…I’m sure that is hard for you to believe.” He stopped and pulled a picture from his pocket. He showed it to her. “This is my son.”

“What is his name?” she asked, it was almost an automatic response. She was sure that he was trying to connect. He wanted her to trust him. He was giving her information that he wouldn’t normally give away.

“Kyle,” Smith said. She could tell from his reaction and the look on his face that he loved his son, this wasn’t just some kid that he’d had his picture printed out. But there was more to the story, she could just tell.

“What happened to him?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“I’ve lived for some time,” Helen pointed out. “And I’ve lost a child…”

“He died from leukemia,” Smith told her. “Two years ago. Right before his eighth birthday.”

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. She’d lost Ashley, but her death hadn’t dragged on for months…or longer. She’d seen such a thing before; she knew how it affected parents. Adam Worth and Imogene were an example of that. Adam Worth had split into Jekyll and Hyde. The loss of his daughter had caused it and he blamed her and Watson even though they’d tried to save the girl.

“His mother took it much harder than I did,” Smith explained. “She killed herself. She couldn’t live any longer without him.” He started to pace again. “All I wanted was to advocate for people to push for cures for these conditions. In some cases they can be cured or put in remission. That wasn’t the case for Kyle. There’s been promising research done here though, one of the scientists is quite close to perfecting a treatment that could possibly be adjusted for various cancer conditions using abnormal DNA.”

“There would be side effects,” Helen pointed out. “It might be enough to mutate their DNA enough—“

“That’s sort of the point. To keep things like cancer…and HIV from killing so many,” Smith told her. “Abnormals are the future. Sort of like how they talk about in ‘x’ amount of years there will be only one skin color… Everyone will be an abnormal, it will be normal… We’re just trying to hurry along the process.”

“And your superiors don’t want super soldiers?” she asked, somewhat surprised.

“That’s not what the research is for, though I’m sure it could be used in such a way,” Smith told her. “I’m not working for a specific government, Doctor Magnus. I’m working for the population of this planet… I’m sure yourself already knows that source blood can help in many applications. The information we gather from your child could even help abnormals.”

“But the research isn’t for abnormals,” Helen pointed out.

“Well, that’s sort of your corner of the world,” Smith told her. “Wouldn’t want to take that away from you.”

“But I am locked up in here,” she pointed out. “I can’t do my work here…”

“We won’t keep you indefinitely.”

Helen looked at him. “And the child?”

“Once we have what we need, you will be free to take the child with you,” Smith told her.

“And you don’t care who I choose as the father?” Helen asked, making sure that she understood fully.

“I honestly don’t care,” Smith told her. “The scientists wanted you to conceive two children. One with Tesla and one with Druitt, but one of our doctors explained that allowing you to choose would help to keep the stress down. Can’t have that, bad for the baby.”

“Right,” she said quietly.

“As long as you cooperate, I can promise you that things will be much easier for you. Much more comfortable.”

“Will you allow them to go free once you have what you want?” Helen asked. If John and Nikola could get free, they could possibly ascertain the location and pass it on to the Sanctuary if a team didn’t find them before.

“You mean once we know you’re pregnant?” Smith asked. “No. We will keep them both for as long as we hold onto you and the child. As insurance, if you will. We are well aware of all of your abilities…and what you are capable of. If not for the collars, you three would have been gone long ago…and would have possibly killed many of the men here. I can’t have that.”

“You won’t require both men, though,” she argued.

Smith smiled at her. “That’s correct, but we can’t have your teams finding us before I’m ready to give you up, can we? And I can assure you; we are somewhere where they will never think to look. I can’t have us releasing Druitt or Tesla and having them lead anyone back to us…”

Helen honestly hoped that this facility was not as well hidden as Smith made it sound like. The Sanctuaries had resources. She had faith in her people. They would be found. No matter what Smith thought. This would give the Sanctuary at least nine months to find them, she hardly thought they needed that long, but it would keep her, John, and Nikola safe as well for that time. She hoped so anyways.

The thought of bringing another child of two source blood parents into the world scared her. She couldn’t be sure that Smith would keep his word or if the child would have the same fate of Ashley. Helen had told herself that she wouldn’t allow the child to come to harm and she had already been told by both Nikola and John that they wouldn’t allow it either, but there really was no way to be certain.

Would certainty put her mind at ease?

She doubted it, but it didn’t make any of this any easier.

“Understand, Doctor Magnus, all I want is a better future…for everyone,” he said quite calmly. “Now…who have you chosen?”

Helen closed her eyes and sucked in breath. It had been what had taken her the most to battle with. Who to choose? Was there really a good choice? John or Nikola? Would she possibly hurt the other’s feelings for whom she chose? Possible. But would that affect their friendship and their commitment to each other? She highly doubted it. Opening her eyes, she looked up at Smith again and quietly relayed her choice.

She just hoped it was the right one.

. . .

TBC…


	5. Lasting Decisions

Chapter 5 – “Lasting Decisions”

 

Helen sat in a new room. It was by far, more like a room than the one that she’d been in before. The walls were painted a muted yellow and the bedding wasn’t a standard white from a hospital. She was certain that they’d taken minimal steps to make it more like a home. She supposed that it made things a little easier to live there for an extended period of time. It had a simple bed and an attached three-piece bathroom. That was it.

Moving to the bed, she removed her shoes and socks. The room she was in was heated comfortably. It was actually nice to be able to remove them and warm up a bit more. She’d still been a little chilly. She neatly set them by the bed and then removed the coat she’d been wrapped in. She folded it and placed it on top of her shoes as well.

For some reason, she felt fear. Fear of what would happen. She knew what would happen…why was she such a mess? Moving back on the bed, she sat in the middle and waited. She stared at the door, waiting and telling herself to just breathe. She’d made the right choice. Things would turn out just fine.

The door opened after some time. The time didn’t help to calm her though. Her heart and her brain had still fought. A man she thought she’d never invite into her bedroom again appeared and she held her breath for a moment as the door shut. “John,” she greeted as she moved off of the bed and walked towards him.

“They wouldn’t tell me what was going on…or if you were okay,” John told her quickly.

“Smith wanted to talk to me privately,” Helen told him. “Probably figured that it wouldn’t be as productive trying to talk to all three of us.”

“What did he want?” John asked.

“He was trying to make me understand why he’s doing this…to try to make me feel sorry for him,” Helen explained. “He was trying to make this easier…”

“Easier?”

“He said that as long as I cooperate…as we all cooperate, that he’ll let me choose who to conceive the child with—“

“Is that why I’m here?” John asked a bit surprised.

“Smith said that if we cooperate that we’ll be able to keep the child with us. They won’t take him or her away. He says all they want are samples and scans. They won’t actually experiment on the child,” Helen told him, ignoring his question for a moment. “He’s willing to just take the samples from each of us and have a surrogate carry who knows how many children…but I said we’d cooperate.” She was quiet for a moment as she stared at him. “He said we can go free once they’re done…and take the baby with us…”

“But can he be trusted?”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Helen told him. “But for now, we have to play along…”

“I see.”

“I’d rather carry this child rather than having no idea how many children they created and where they are,” Helen told him a little angry at the idea. “I would always wonder…” Her voice softened and she looked down for a moment and then back up at him. “But I need your help, John.”

“Why not Nikola?” he asked.

Helen could see that he was still surprised at her choosing him. He’d changed and maybe that was why her heart and head were arguing so much right now over this decision. “I care for you both dearly…I would give my life for either of you, but you and I, John…” She paused for a moment, searching for the right words. “Maybe it hasn’t always seemed right… It was right before in London…and I feel like it’s right now.”

“I did you wrong so many times, Helen,” John argued with her. “Energy elemental or not. I wasn’t strong enough…”

“You were desperate some times, but you always loved me, didn’t you?” Helen asked. She knew the answer. The whole of The Five knew how John operated while they were all alive, though she tried not to be there when they talked about him. It was far too hard then. How she wished that they could know that that really hadn’t been John. She could remember all the times John had showed up over the decades…but she wasn’t going to regret this decision. She knew in her heart that it was the right one.

“For all eternity,” he whispered as he stared at her. “I was never there for you or Ashley…” he brought up a moment later.

“You weren’t well then,” Helen said. “And when you could control it…you tried…”

“I have missed so much…”

Helen reached out and cupped his cheek with the palm of her hand. “You’re making up for it now with Halia.”

“Halia,” he breathed. “What she must think right now…”

“Will and the others are keeping an eye on her,” Helen told him. “Henry’s probably already out taking her on that college tour. I think he and Kate were supposed to take her. She probably doesn’t even realize how long we’ve been missing. And plus, they’ll make up a reasonable excuse for our extended absence.”

John nodded and then leaned in to kiss her forehead. “I have missed you, Helen…”

“Trust me, John,” she whispered.

“You know I do.”

She was used to being a bit taller. John was quite tall and normally she wore heels…but they’d confiscated her clothing and her footwear when she’d arrived and not returned her exact outfit. Now, she was several inches shorter and it felt a bit odd. “You’re much taller than I remember,” she teased lightheartedly and smiled brightly up at him.

John smiled down and leaned down to kiss her. At first, they were both a bit reluctant. It had been some time since either was so fully willing, heart and all, to be so intimate with one another.

She elevated on her tiptoes as she initiated another kiss. Her hand wrapped around his neck to steady herself. Helen pushed back the thoughts that kept floating about, all the ‘what ifs’ and banished them. She needed to stop thinking…she just needed to allow this moment to happen.

To drop all of her walls…

To let go of everything…

To stop thinking…

To let the world around her go…

. . .

Helen was thankful that at least they were afforded privacy. She moved a tiny bit closer to John, his warm flesh warming her. She’d woken up after she’d heard something, though it was just noise in the hallway outside of the room.

“Sleep,” John whispered.

She tightened her hold on him and tried to push out their current situation. It wasn’t easy, but she just wanted to live in that façade for a few more minutes. “I can’t…”

His hands were running through her hair and she had to admit, she felt safe there with him. Maybe it was because he was currently holding her. Maybe it was just the situation. Whatever it was, she was glad that she was remembering. She was glad that John was there.

“We’re going to get out of here,” John told her.

“I know.”

“Just going to have to allow some time to pass for your teams to find us,” John said.

That was still something she wasn’t sure about. “Do we really know how much time has passed? Nikola has been trying to keep track of time, but he can’t even be sure if it’s been a week or a month…”

“It was easier to keep track of days when that hole in the ceiling wasn’t covered, though you weren’t quite as warm then,” John pointed out.

It was all so frustrating and probably why she was so torn about things, even now. “We should probably get dressed…” she suggested after another moment. In truth, she just wanted to stay there and pretend that they weren’t being held captive.

John pulled her tightly against his body and kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and then finally kissed her lips. “I know you’re worried,” he whispered against your lips. “You needn’t be.”

Helen’s eyes teared up a bit. It had been some time since she could feel this absolutely exposed with John. Sometimes she forgot just how much he (and Nikola) knew her. How much they knew each other. She stared up into his eyes and found herself reminded that he and Nikola were the only reasons she was probably so sane now…and probably the reasons why she remembered who she was and who they were.

“If we’ve conceived another child…” she barely managed to get out somewhat calmly. Her hands went down to her abdomen and she closed her eyes. It was like she could see inside her body and know what was happening. She was a doctor; after all, she knew the cycle of life and the process of forming something that went from looking like a tadpole to a baby. It was almost too painful to think about. Though she’d resigned herself to this, she still found her mind fighting it.

“I told you,” John told her calmly. “I will not let any harm come to you or this child… I will end the life of every miserable person in this facility if I have to…”

His voice didn’t quite darken. He’d turned quite serious though and she had no doubt that he and Nikola would do what they thought was right, even if it resulted in them murdering somewhat innocent people.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

Normally this was a question that she often asked. But trust was the reason she was there right now. “Yes,” she breathed. She was pulled up a bit so that their heads were right next to one another. He kissed the side of her head lovingly and she had to admit that there was something so comforting about this.

“Your teams from the Sanctuaries are looking for you…for us,” John whispered to her as he rocked her slowly. “Maybe not Nikola…but they know that we’re missing.” And that was true. She knew that. She and John had been out, like normal people, going to eat lunch together. He’d taken them to a place they both remembered. “Your protégé doesn’t like doing all your paperwork, remember? I’m sure that’s motivation enough to find us.”

“We’ve been gone for days…”

“A week, most likely,” he told her. “But your people love you, Helen. They won’t stop looking for you until they find you.”

“Smith said that it was highly unlikely that they’d find this place. That the only way would be if they were to let one of us go. It sounded like it would give the Sanctuary a vague marker to start looking, but that it was more just a small risk he didn’t want to take,” Helen told him. A kiss was placed on her head again. She sucked in breath and tried to focus on this moment, on John. It would make things so much easier if she could, if she could stay completely focused within that moment.

“Just remember one thing, Helen. I love you,” he whispered. “And though I hate to say this aloud, Nikola does as well. I think we both know that. He would be nutty right now if you hadn’t finally remembered him…though maybe that wouldn’t have been such a bad thing.”

A smile came to her lips and she leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “He would be absolutely intolerable if that were the case.”

“I thought he already was?”

She laughed for a moment. He was absolutely right. Helen stared at him and then reached out to touch his face. Seriousness touched her and she found herself unable to stop what came next. “I love you, John,” she whispered. And it was true. Even if her brain wanted to fight that statement, it was true. In her heart, even though there’d been so much hate and sadness between them, she couldn’t honestly deny that.

“For all eternity.”

She nodded a bit. “Yes. For all eternity.”

. . .

 

TBC…


	6. Getting Comfortable...Sort Of...

Chapter 6 – “Getting Comfortable…Sort Of…”

 

“I really would do with a nice calendar and a clock,” Tesla complained.

“I thought you knew how many days had passed,” Helen spoke up in confused.

Tesla shook his head. “I know it’s at least three weeks,” he admitted. “But I honestly couldn’t really keep track anymore.”

They’d been moved to a new room. This one was much like the one that they’d taken her and John to. There were three beds, tables, chairs, bedside tables, lamps, and a bathroom attached. Smith’s men had even started to take requests including books and what music they played. They’d even gone so far to take requests for their food orders. The temperature was controlled, unless the original room they’d been in. It was comfortable, that was for sure. They did plan on keeping them there.

“I know, why don’t we have a discussion!” Tesla said, perking up a bit. He got up from where he’d been perched on the bed he’d claimed. He moved towards the middle of the room and faced them.

Helen sighed. “Not again, Nikola…”

“How could you possibly choose Jack the Ripper over me?” Nikola started. This had turned into pretty much a daily routine. Sometimes it happened more than once. “My DNA is far more superior…” He looked to Helen. “And just imagine how breathtaking and intelligent our children would have been.”

“Enough, Nikola,” she snapped after a moment. “I’m tired and I honestly don’t have the patience for this today.”

He stopped and just stared at her for a moment before sulking off.

“If you’re going to be snippy, you could at least show signs of pregnancy,” Tesla complained.

“I thought you received books you requested that you could busy yourself with?” Druitt asked Tesla as he walked towards him.

Tesla sighed. “You know my reenactment of that is the only thing I look forward to everyday.”

John touched her shoulder. She knew what he wanted before he opened his mouth to say it. She was sitting in a chair and had been attempting to read one of the books that had been brought in. She hadn’t been able to get past the two pages that she’d started with. “I’m fine,” she whispered.

“Take a nap! We’re both tired of seeing you struggle to read the pages,” Tesla spoke up.

John sighed. “You’ve been fighting it. Just sleep for a little bit. Nikola and I will be here the whole time.”

“I’m not worried about them dragging me away again,” she told him and when she looked up at him, she could see the worry in his face. She was exhausted, but she just didn’t want to sleep. Not here. Helen wanted to go home to Old City so badly and sleep in her own bed. “John,” she tried to argue, but she allowed him to take her book and set it aside and took his offered hand. He pulled her to her feet and he walked her to the bed.

“You’ll feel better after you’ve slept for a little bit,” he told her quietly.

Helen sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. She reached down and removed her shoes and socks before pulling back the bedding and crawling underneath it. John moved it to cover her. Maybe she was scared. She liked to be in control and all of this…she was completely out of control here… Smith controlled everything. Smith had been coming every few days and throwing her and John back into the other room, sometimes at what they felt were odd times of day. It was hard and sometimes it scared her so badly. There was no knowing of how long Smith would remain somewhat patient.

. . .

Time passed on slowly, but they all knew that time was definitely passing by. She felt like she’d crawled into bed and just decided not to move. Helen hadn’t been feeling well, especially not lately. She felt warm and couldn’t sleep well.

“She’s been like this for a week now,” Tesla said.

“I know,” Druitt spoke up. “I’m worried about her.”

“I’m not sure worried is the correct term,” Tesla said.

The bed moved a bit, someone was crawling in beside her. She turned to see that Nikola was there and then she felt the bed move again. John was crawling in on the other side. “I’m fine,” she lied. She felt ill. That was for sure. All she wanted was to go home. So much time had passed; she had begun to think that Smith was right. Her teams wouldn’t be able to find her…them.

“Shh…” John whispered as he moved her shirt upward slightly.

She tried to stop him, but his hand cupped her stomach and slid downward slightly. She didn’t understand. Helen looked up at Nikola’s face. He looked quite shocked and obviously speechless.

“We have to keep them from realizing she’s pregnant for as long as possible,” John told Nikola. “They haven’t been monitoring her. They obviously are looking for her to show.”

“Well, that’s starting now.”

“We didn’t notice,” John pointed out.

“It would be easier if she were naked,” Tesla pointed out. “Plus, she’s been in bed…harder to keep track of her body shape.”

“John,” she whispered, tears coming to her eyes. “I…” She was pregnant. Her hands moved to where John’s hands still rested and he moved her hands in the same way he’d moved his. She could feel it, the tiny bump that was forming.

His lips touched her forehead in a kiss. He wiped away her tears. “Mustn’t be sad, Darling,” he whispered. “We need to act normal… We need to try to keep this from them.”

“My people aren’t coming, John,” she whispered. Panic set in suddenly. Her brain started to race as she tried to figure out exactly how far along she most likely was. She’d had one child previously, Ashley, and she tried to remember her body’s changes from that pregnancy. “I could be as far as two months along,” she whispered.

“Have we really been here that long?” Tesla asked, a little shocked.

“Longer even,” John pointed out.

Carefully, she was moved up into a sitting position by John, who held her. She pressed her face against the fabric of his shirt. Of all the people she could cry in front of and not be judged, these were two of those people. His hand was on her back and she was trying to calm down, but her emotions were deciding differently.

“Hormones…should be interesting,” Tesla commented. “That’s for sure.”

. . .

Helen was fast asleep when she felt herself being pulled from bed. She reached out for John and held tight. She could hear Nikola; he’d moved from the other side and was fighting the guards. She didn’t want to go with them, not now…not yet. It was the gun to John’s head that forced her to let go of him. Tears ran down her face as she was dragged off of the bed and out of the room. She didn’t think they’d ever sent in that many armed guards before. Obviously, they were expecting them to put up a fight.

Down the hallway they went. She was exhausted and upset. They’d been hopeful that they wouldn’t catch on until she was really showing. She figured that that could give her a few more weeks at the most. Helen found herself being set up onto a hospital-like bed.

“You and your friends are quite clever, Doctor Magnus,” Smith said, appearing from the doorway. “It does become a bit odd though when two men are willing to sleep in the same bed together, but you were there…you were the one they were protecting.”

She thought about making a comment, but remained quiet. There were trays with needles and empty vials and far too much medical equipment for her liking. She was strapped down and though she fought it, it was no use. Helen held her breath as one of the ‘nurses’ in the room moved her shirt up a bit, squeezed gel out onto it, and then waved the ultrasound wand over her belly. Her eyes moved to the screen and she saw it, she saw what she already knew was there.

A baby.

Her baby.

“There it is,” Smith said.

“From the size, she’s about eight weeks,” the nurse said.

“We need to be sure to administer prenatal care,” Smith reminded.

Another nurse came up to her side. “I need to draw some blood,” she said quite calmly and started her task.

The only ones in the room with her were Smith and the two nurses. The others had left once she’d been strapped down. She’d tested the bonds, her wrists felt loose enough. There was a chance that she could take the three of them down. Helen’s mind races as she thought of what she needed to do.

The nurse finished drawing blood and left her side, she turned to see the other one had a syringe filled with something and was getting ready to inject it into the area where the baby was. “What are you doing?” she demanded.

“Don’t fret, it’s something to help the little one,” Smith told her. “We want to make sure this child is as healthy as possible, remember?”

“What is it?”

“I told you not to worry,” Smith said.

She needed to know what they were giving her. It was too late though, whatever it was was injected and the nurse left too. She couldn’t remember if there was a lab or another area attached to the room, but neither nurse returned after a moment. It left her just with Smith.

He turned his back and she took that as her opportunity to pull from her wrist bonds, she swung out and smacked him backwards before reaching down and removing the ankle bonds. She was up and out of the chair before he could make it back to her. The room could be seen in full now. There was another room towards the back. Helen kept going after Smith and pushed him towards the back room with the nurses. The last swing knocked him against the back wall of the smaller room. She shut the door between the rooms and blocked it.

Now, the harder part was to get to Nikola and John and make it out of the facility. There was also the small problem of their collars. They most likely needed to be removed before they made their full escape attempt.

Only one guard was outside the door and she took him by surprise. She headed back towards where she thought the room was when there was a loud blast and suddenly guards were filing out left and right. She hid in the closest room she could find, a small closet. She tried to make herself as small as possible and sunk into a corner.

The sound of people going past made her try to make herself even smaller. Helen chastised herself for not pulling the gun off of the guard she’d taken out outside of the room they’d taken her to. She didn’t feel the need for it at the time. She didn’t think that there’d be so much activity in the hallway.

Pain.

Immense pain kicked her suddenly in her abdomen. She doubled over in pain and bit her bottom lip in order to keep from screaming out in pain. Her eyes snapped shut and she tried to breathe past it.

“Helen!”

She ignored the voices. She was starting to believe that it was quite possible that with all the pain she was experiencing that she was delirious. Helen couldn’t be a small form anymore and found herself lying on the floor on her side as she continued to keep the pain she was experiencing to herself only. She couldn’t be found out. No, she wouldn’t let them take her back.

“Magnus!”

The pain hit her hard again and she couldn’t keep it in any longer. She let out a loud cry and then sobs followed after. Tears fell from her eyes as she held herself. God, let her not be found. Let the pain pass so she could free Tesla and Druitt so that they could go home. All she wanted right now was to go home.

Home…

The edges of her vision started to blacken and she closed her eyes again and tried to focus on happier thoughts. Of going home and being in her own bed. The darkness overtook her in no time and she was actually grateful.

. . .

 

TBC…


	7. It's About Time!

Chapter 7 – “It’s About Time!”

 

“She’s here!”

Helen kept still and on her side. She’d woken up when the door had opened and the light had poured in. The pain was gone…for now anyways. The voice was familiar but she still remained still. She snapped her eyes shut when the person’s hand touched her.

“Magnus? Magnus can you hear me?”

“I want to go home,” she whispered.

“We’re here to take you home.”

She knew the voice. Declan. She trusted Declan. Helen pulled in a deep breath and found it that she was being slowly rolled onto her back. She slowly opened her eyes and took in his confused face.

“You’re pregnant,” he breathed.

She blinked a bit, for some reason she was tired and her body was really insisting that she sleep. She forced her eyes to remain open though. She couldn’t sleep, not yet. Helen had to ensure that this was real and that she was really safe…that they were taking her home.

“She wasn’t THAT pregnant before,” Tesla said as he and Druitt arrived into view.

“My God… What have they done?” Druitt asked.

Declan looked up at them. “What do you mean? You’re not surprised she’s pregnant, but because of her size? You were separated—“

“No, she was with us earlier…not more than an hour ago,” Druitt explained. “We thought she was about two months pregnant. She looks much farther along now.”

“I’d say four or five,” Declan said.

“What did they do to her?” Tesla asked again.

Druitt and Tesla looked at each other. Helen thought about speaking up, but she honestly wanted to know the answers to their questions. “We should find out,” Druitt said. Before she could argue, they were gone.

“Can you walk, Magnus?” Declan asked.

It took her a moment longer than normal to process what was being said. She nodded her head. In all honesty, she didn’t know if her legs would support her weight, but she was willing to try. If not, Declan would be right there for her to grab onto.

Helen took a moment to breathe and then allowed her hand to run over her belly. It had definitely grown bigger in the short time she’d been hiding in the closet. Tears filled her eyes, but she kept them back. She started to get up on her own accord, but took Declan’s offered hand when he held it out. She was to her feet in no time. Her balance was off though; the added size wasn’t something she’d expected. She reached out and grabbed hold of Declan for support.

“You sure you can walk?” Declan asked.

“No,” she admitted. She looked up, still holding onto Declan, to find Tesla and Druitt walking back towards them. Helen was still tired, which was one of the reasons why she was still using Declan to stay upright. As they got closer, she noticed that both Tesla and Druitt were covered in blood. “What have you done?” she breathed, panic rose in her slightly to see them both in such a state. Their collars were removed, so they could use their abilities obviously. She was more shocked to see John covered in blood; it was too much like the John she thought no longer existed. The tears she’d been holding finally fell free.

“Let’s get you home,” John spoke up.

“I don’t think it’s wise to teleport Magnus while she’s with child,” Declan spoke up.

Helen grabbed tighter onto Declan and allowed her weight to shift to him. His arm wrapped around her, holding her steady. “Declan’s right,” she barely managed to get out. Her vision was darkening and she desperately needed

“We need a helicopter, Old City isn’t far,” Declan said.

Wasn’t far? She blinked as she tried to stay awake. Her vision was pooling with black. In an effort to keep herself safe, she started to sit down and found herself being caught by Declan. She blinked rapidly as she tried to stay conscious, if only a mere moment more.

“Stay with us, Magnus.”

The darkness overtook her again and this time, she didn’t try to fight it. She was safe, which was all she needed to know.

. . .

The light woke her. It was shining directly on her face and she didn’t feel the need to move to avoid it to remain asleep. She opened her eyes to find herself surprisingly someplace quite familiar. She was in her own bed in her room at her Sanctuary in Old City. She smiled as she took it all in. Maybe it had all been a dream… She reached down and ran her hand over her belly. No, it hadn’t been a dream…she was pregnant… Everything had been real, but the good news was that she was safe and she was home.

“She’s awake.”

Helen rolled her head towards the voice. Nikola and someone else were in her room. She found Nikola and John both sitting at her bedside. Last she saw them both, they’d been covered in blood. They’d obviously showered and changed since then. She supposed that she should be grateful for small favors. “I really don’t want to see either of you,” she said quietly as she slowly got herself up to a sitting position.

“I’m hurt! Why not?” Nikola asked.

“You both went after those scientists… They probably didn’t know what was happening... I’d admit, they weren’t all innocents but I believe that many of them were!” Helen told him. She turned to John. “And I thought that this would have stopped with you… The energy elemental isn’t inside of you anymore, what is your excuse this time?”

“He did something to you and our child!” John snapped, anger rising in him. “I had to find out what they’d done!”

“Believe me,” Nikola interrupted. “John was the one who was playing good cop.”

“You and the child are safe and healthy,” John told her. “You can be mad at me all you like, but my conscience is clean.”

“They accelerated your pregnancy, Helen,” Nikola said. “You didn’t see what you looked like in that closet. You looked broken… For all we knew, they’d infected you…or they did something to the baby. They promised they wouldn’t experiment in utero, but I think we can all agree that them keeping their promises wasn’t something we could exactly bank on.”

She ignored them for a moment as she ran her hands over her growing belly. “Accelerated pregnancy… It might keep the child from developing correctly,” she whispered, mainly to herself. Helen looked over at them both. “I appreciate you both protecting me, but right now…I want you to leave my house.”

“Helen,” John said slowly, pain obvious in his voice.

“I need time,” she said, looking directly at him.

“You’re kicking us out? That’s downright cruel, Helen,” Nikola started. “Not only are you making Johnny leave you and your unborn child, but also his daughter that you were trying to get him to connect with…”

She closed her eyes. She’d forgotten about Halia in that instant. Helen couldn’t think about everything right now, she was concentrating on the child inside of her. “I’m sorry, John…I wasn’t thinking…I just…I need time…”

John was to his feet before Nikola was. “I’ll tell her I have to go away for a few days again on business…” he told her.

Helen sighed as she tried to think of what would be a better solution to the problem at hand. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and got to her feet. She wanted to get dressed, though did she know where there were clothes that would fit her? She wanted to go down to the medical lab and look at the results of scans and the like that she was sure had been done when she’d been brought home.

Pain.

She collapsed to her knees and put her hands out to catch herself, to keep the baby safe. She let out a scream and tried to breathe through the pain like she’d done before, but it didn’t seem to be helping. It felt like someone was repeatedly hitting her full force in her stomach. Druitt and Tesla were around the bed and at her side in no time. Even though she was still upset at them, she couldn’t bring herself to repeat for them to get out of her house.

“I’ve got you,” John said calmly as he arranged her in his arms and then lifted her.

“Don’t teleport,” she told him and then let out another scream.

John was already hurrying out the door was her in his arms. “I remember, Darling.”

. . .

She’d been hurried down to her medical area. Declan and Bigfoot were down there. Apparently they’d been checking on her while she’d been in her room, but they were hoping that the pregnancy wouldn’t further accelerate without another injection. They were definitely wrong. Declan had the wand going and she could see on the screen that the baby was growing inside of her. Though she was in immense pain, she was thankful that the baby seemed to be still developing just as it would normally.

“I’m afraid that anything I could give you for the pain would be bad for the baby,” Declan apologized.

She cringed as the pain ebbed away. “It’s okay… I knew that… It’s going away now.” Helen breathed through it and was quite happy when she just felt large and was finally in no pain.

“Perhaps bed rest is in order,” Declan suggested.

Bigfoot grunted a bit and then vocalized. “Good luck with that…” He helped her up into a sitting position and then back to her feet. “You should have seen her when she was pregnant with Ashley. Was still running around with a gun even on her due date.”

“I was extremely careful,” she said, a little sad at the thought of Ashley. This was extremely hard for her as it was.

“Don’t you want to know the child’s gender?” Declan asked.

“No,” she said.

“Why not?” John asked.

Helen frowned and turned to see him and Nikola still there. “It’s not like we’ll have to wait long…”

“The child upsets you,” John said.

She didn’t answer him. She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to hash things out in front of everyone. “Walk me back to my room, John?” she asked. Helen knew that he wouldn’t deny her something simple like that. That would give them time to talk.

“You need to rest,” Declan said from behind her.

Helen nodded and she noticed John’s surprised look, but took his offered arm when it was presented to her. She walked with him, hoping that the others would leave them be for a while. Tesla wasn’t following, which was a good start.

“I know you’re angry with me,” John started. “I did what I needed in order to get information—“

“I was more angry to see that it seemed like you’d reverted to your old murderous tendencies.”

“I did what I thought was right.”

“I know,” she whispered and looked over at him. “But to see you and Nikola covered in blood…it scared me, John.”

“I only want to protect you…and this child.”

Helen could understand that. It was what every parent wanted to do, to protect those they loved and their offspring. She really couldn’t fault him on it, but that didn’t mean that she still hadn’t been frightened by what she’d seen. “I understand that.”

“Do you?” he asked and forced them both to stop. He turned her so she had to stare at him. “Then why do I feel like you’re going to banish me from this house? From the only things I hold dear?”

“I wasn’t thinking, John… I honestly want you to be in Halia’s life,” Helen told him.

“And our child?”

She nodded. “I do want you to be in this child’s life…” Helen looked down at her growing belly and ran her hands over it. “You have no idea how much I wish Ashley could be here to see you like this. For you two to experience life like this… But this honestly scares me,” she confessed as she looked back up at him. “To love something as deeply as a parent loves a child and then to fear that this child will be snatched away.”

“Are you afraid it’s a girl? Will that make you sad?” he asked curiously.

Helen tilted her head a bit. “Honestly, I don’t know…but I think it’ll just make me worry more…”

“I promise you, Helen, I do not intend to go on any murderous rampages…unless it’s to protect my family,” John told her. “I feared that I’d lost you and the baby when they found you in the closet earlier… You have to know I would only do that for fear of those I love… As I’m sure you would…to do anything to protect them…”

And she did understand that. When they were going after Ashley, she had been far more on edge and extreme with Kate when they’d first met her than she would have been if her daughter hadn’t been involved. It was a natural parental instinct, though. “I’m just worried.”

John took her arm again and started to continue to lead her back to her bedroom. “Tesla isn’t going to leave until after we’re sure you and the baby are safe. You don’t have to worry. We’re at the Sanctuary. You have Declan and the furry one here to be here when you go into labor… The others are all ready to defend this place should it be attacked.”

“And what of Halia? I didn’t want her to be thrown into the insanity that can be the Sanctuary and the abnormal world sometimes…”

“She and Henry are back,” John told her. “I saw her… She’s quite happy. Henry and Erika wanted to show her Oxford. I think it might be a good idea…to get her away from here for a few days…”

Helen nodded. “Plus, it would be nice for her to see a bit more of the world…”

“I’ll make sure I let Henry know then,” John said.

They entered her bedroom and she sighed. She really needed to see if she had any maternity clothes from when she had Ashley or some clothing that would stretch enough… Though, she obviously wouldn’t be pregnant for as long as was standard. She stepped out of the shoes she was in first and then made her way towards the bed. She was extremely tired and even just lying down sounded really good.

“Have you told Halia about the baby?”

“I didn’t want to scare her.”

Helen crawled into her bed and got under the covers. She lay on her side with her back to John. “I don’t want to scare her either,” Helen said. “But we’re going to have to tell her sometime.” She looked over her shoulder and then patted the empty space behind her. “Lay with me for a while?”

He didn’t say anything. John crawled into bed next to her and lay down with her as she’d requested. His arm draped over her stomach and they just lay there. It was filled with silence, but Helen was relaxed and that was mainly the point. There was something comforting about John being there.

John’s fingers ran through her hair, slowly and gently. He hummed a song, which neither of them remembered. It was enough to relax her to sleep.

. . .

TBC…


	8. A New Addition

Chapter 8 – “A New Addition”

 

The beeping of the monitors were actually rather comforting. Declan and Biggie were running tests and scans. They wanted to ensure that both her and the child she was carrying were both healthy. She could hear the child’s heartbeat and brought her eyes around to the monitor. The latest scan of her child was up there and it brought tears to her eyes to see for herself that it was healthy. He or she was nearly full term and almost ready to be born into the world.

“Everything seems to be in order,” Declan told her.

She nodded. “I can see that. It’s actually amazing…it safely—“

“Not sure I would call it safe,” Declan argued. “It puts you into immense pain every time the baby grows. If you weren’t a medical doctor, I doubt you would see it as amazing.”

Smiling, Helen nodded again. “Good point.”

“Are you quite sure you don’t want to know the gender now?”

“I’ll wait,” she responded.

“Now, you really shouldn’t be up and walking about too much,” he told her. “The Big Guy and I agree that you should give birth by the end of the day…and we’d much rather you be in one location.”

“Are you forcing me to bed rest?”

“Yes,” he said a bit reluctantly. “And I’ve called in a few extra hands. Smita and Dulal from the Mumbai Sanctuary will be arriving. I wanted medical backgrounds. You know mine’s limited and I just want to be prepared.”

“I do trust you and the Big Guy, but I understand your wanting to be prepared,” she told him. “Though I’m not too thrilled about the bed rest part.”

Declan smiled. “Will is making the travel arrangements for Smita and Dulal… Druitt’s agreed to retrieve them so they should be here shortly.” He helped her up into a full sitting position and then off of the bed and onto her feet. “Henry and the other Sanctuary Network security folk have all come up with a new and improved security protocol that is being installed as we speak.”

“It seems like we just updated it not long ago.”

“You’re right,” Declan said. “But I haven’t been able to find any information on the group that had you, Druitt, and Tesla. Nothing. Not even who was behind the group. It’s like they never existed. So, we thought this would be a good idea. Given that they want the child, we figured that upping security wouldn’t be a bad idea.”

“Agreed.”

“Let me walk you back to your room?”

Helen smiled at him and took his arm. Declan McRae was definitely an asset. He’d trained under James Watson and she wished that her old friend were alive to see how far he’d come. “Thank you,” she said with a smile.

“You seem happier today.”

“Well, for the moment,” she told him. “The baby isn’t growing…so I’m feeling better…”

“I know you’re worried about the child.”

Helen nodded. “I am. I believe that whoever took us…won’t stop coming…”

“Which is why we strengthened the defenses. Stop worrying so much, it’s not good for the little one.”

Helen shook her head a bit and just smiled at him. She put her full trust in Declan and her team, and she had to admit that they were doing extraordinary. They were doing things that would get them ready for possible attack, without her having to tell them to. They were learning so well.

. . .

She was exhausted. The baby had gone through another growth spurt, what Bigfoot had thought was going to be the last one before she goes into labor. She hoped so. The pain was tiring and she found herself ready for a nap when there was a quiet knock at her door.

“Come in,” she called.

It was odd to have the peace of her own room. Nikola was apparently poking holes in the new defenses while John was off retrieving the doctors from the Mumbai Sanctuary. The door opened and she moved into a sitting position. She smiled when she finally saw her visitor. An unexpected surprise.

“Henry! Come in!” she said cheerfully.

“I didn’t want to bother you…but I wanted to see you before we left,” Henry said, still just peeking in the door.

“Come in,” she insisted. It would be nice to have a visitor. Everyone else had been keeping their distance. She’d missed Henry most of all, but she understood that none of them wanted to be in the way.

“Wow…you’re definitely larger…I mean—“

She laughed lightly. “I know what you mean,” she told him.

“I didn’t mean…”

“I know, Henry.”

“Halia’s all ready…and Erika’s downstairs with her. I just wanted to check in with you before we left.”

“Are you sure that you’re both feeling up to the task?” Helen asked.

Henry nodded. “We’ve already sat down and made a bunch of tourist plans. It’s going to be great.”

“Stay out of trouble, though.”

“I know.” Henry paused for a moment and then spoke before she could speak again. “And Halia’s underage, so no drinking. I know.”

Helen smiled. “I just…”

“She’s like my little sister,” Henry told her with a smile. “Don’t worry… We’ll keep her safe and we’ll look out for her.”

“I know, it’s just…I haven’t even had time to spend with her… I spent so much time with the Halia in the other universe…and I feel bad honestly,” she confessed. Henry was one of the few people she felt comfortable telling such a thing to. Henry had been with her at the Sanctuary since he was a boy and she’d raised him with Ashley.

Henry smiled. “Halia understands. And when she finds out that she has a baby brother or sister, she’s going to be really excited. I know you guys want to keep it from her until things calm down, but she can handle it. She’s strong.”

“A day or two won’t hurt.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” he asked as he sat down on the edge of her bed. He stared at her and she could see the worry etched in his face.

Helen smiled at him and reached out to squeeze his hand with hers. “I will be. Two doctors from the Mumbai Sanctuary are being brought here as backup and Tesla’s trying to strengthen the security system even more.”

“If he wasn’t such a genius, I’d be irritated with that,” Henry commented.

“He means well.”

“I know.”

“I’ll be fine, Henry. You three just have fun and take care of each other.”

Henry nodded and moved in closer to hug her. She kissed the side of his head in return. “Keep me in the loop?” he requested.

“Always.”

. . .

 

Memories of Ashley flooded her mind as she tried to forget reality. She remembered when she first held her daughter and how overjoyed she’d been. Helen had waited nearly a century to finally have the daughter she’d conceived with John. She hadn’t wanted to be so alone in the world. And in truth, Ashley was the start of her family…her true and extended family. The family she cherished so much.

It had been a hard decision then. She had worried that she was being selfish and that she really wasn’t thinking about the wellbeing of her future child. At that time, she hadn’t seen John for nearly a century, so she never had seen the harm in it. John wouldn’t be looking for a daughter so many years later.

Ashley had brought such great joy to her life. She had companions; Bigfoot had been one that she’d found nearly thirty years before Ashley. She’d had others along the way. But ultimately, the people who felt right had been Bigfoot and Ashley…and then little Henry…

“Helen! You have to concentrate! The baby’s coming!” Declan shouted urgently.

She didn’t want to think. She didn’t want to concentrate. She wanted to be lost. Helen wanted to live in a world where Ashley existed.

“Helen,” came a gentle voice. When she opened her eyes she found Bigfoot sitting at her bedside, one of her hands gently held between his. “Do you remember when Ashley was coming? You were scared?”

Tears fell from her eyes and she nodded.

“You said afterwards that it was all worth it…”

“I’m so afraid, Old Friend,” she breathed.

“We’re going to protect this child the best that any of us can…”

“What if it isn’t enough?”

“It will be,” he told her. “Now, you have to do your part because this baby is ready to come into the world…”

“I can’t,” she cried. “Not without John.”

Bigfoot looked down to Declan. “Get them to find him.”

“Get her calm,” Declan said as he hurried out to the hall.

She squeezed his hand and stared up into his eyes. “I miss her so much,” she confided. She knew that he knew that. They all missed Ashley. He, Henry, and she probably most of all.

“When Ashley and Henry were small,” Bigfoot said. “They both wanted a sibling. A baby. I always told them that would never happen, but I can tell you now…Ashley wouldn’t want you to keep this baby from being born. She’d have been excited to have a baby brother or sister.”

Tears fell from her eyes and she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She really couldn’t do this.

“Breathe,” Bigfoot prompted and squeezed her hand.

She shook her head.

“You have to breathe.”

And so she took a breath.

“Breathe in and breathe out…” he said in a soothing tone.

Suddenly she was breathing regularly and felt calm. She found herself breathing through a contraction. Declan was back and John was right behind him. Biggie was busy motioning for John to be with her.

“It’s going to be okay, Darling,” John told her as he carefully moved a pillow from behind her and slid in behind her. He held her and whispered into her ear. “Breathe, Helen…”

“It’s going to be time to push on the next contraction,” Declan instructed. “I think this little one is ready to be in this world.”

It was a blur. There was pain and she pushed and there was screaming. John held her the whole time and told her that she was doing wonderfully and reminded her to breathe. But it seemed like it was over in only moments. There was a cry and it was like the world fell silent around this tiny life that was brought into the world. Declan laughed. And she knew that everything was going to be okay.

“It’s a girl,” Declan announced excitedly. “A beautiful baby girl…”

John smiled down at her proudly and happily. She smiled back up at him. She was tired, but she was happy. Maybe this was a chance to start over, she didn’t know. All she knew was that she was going to tell this little girl all about the big sister she would never get to meet. She supposed that it would be nice for this child and Halia…they’d have each other and they’d have Henry and others to tell them about Ashley.

“Do you want to cut the cord?” Bigfoot asked as he held the scissors towards John.

Helen nodded up to him. “Go on, see her…” She felt like it was important for John to do this. It was something that many fathers got to do, but John had missed out on this unique experience with his older two daughters. He kissed her forehead before moving. He eased her back onto the pillows and she watched as he made his way to Declan and Biggie.

After a moment Declan frowned and turned to her. “I know you probably want to hold her, but we’re a little concerned with her breathing…”

“She may just need to be cleaned up a little bit better,” Bigfoot said. The newborn was swaddled in blankets in his arm. “But we should run scans to be sure.”

“I can hold her once you’ve done your scans,” Helen said. She was more concerned that her child was healthy. She could hold her in a little bit. She needed to think of a name anyways.

“I’m going to send Dulal and Smita up here to check on you…” Declan said. He turned to John. “You’ll stay with her?”

John nodded and moved back to her side. He waited until they disappeared before speaking. Tears were falling from his eyes. “She’s beautiful…”

She smiled and couldn’t help but tear up as well. “We have a daughter,” she rejoiced as she grabbed his hand and leaned against him.

“She will need a name.”

“We should think then,” Helen told him. “It’s not proper to call her ‘baby’ for too long.”

. . .

TBC…


	9. Loss of a Child

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully all of the chapters are in order now... For some reason, it was missing chapter 4 & 5 I believe even though I put them up 0_o So, should be all fixed now!

Chapter 9 – “Loss of a Child”

 

“She’s almost asleep,” John said as he stood up and made his way towards Will, who had entered the room. The other doctors had already been there and had delivered the placenta and made sure that she didn’t need any minor surgery. But they’d been left alone for some time with no word about their child. “She’s worried about our daughter.”

“She’s going to be fine,” Will said.

“Her breathing,” Helen said quietly. She was exhausted and was holding on to see their baby. She and John had started to discuss names, but hadn’t decided yet. She had been concerned that maybe her baby’s lungs weren’t quite developed yet, but it was good to hear that she was okay.

“Just had something in her lungs,” Will explained. “She’s fine. The Big Guy and Declan are taking care of her.”

“Helen hasn’t gotten to hold her yet,” John said. “They were going to bring her back.”

“I told them not to.”

“What do you mean? That’s why she’s been staying awake, so she can hold the baby,” John said, his voice getting angrier.

“I’m afraid you’re going to both have to wait to hold her,” Will said. “I’ve sent them away. To keep the baby safe.”

“You’ve done what?!” John exploded as he pushed Will up against the wall.

Helen was shocked by Will’s words, but was sure that there had to be an explanation. There had to be a good reason for him to do something so drastic. She slowly got herself to the edge of the bed in a sitting position. “John, please…let him explain…”

“He has no right!” John yelled at Will.

It only took a second. Will had reached down and then John was on the floor a few moments later. Will had sedated him. He’d come prepared. He turned to her. “I’m sorry to have to do this, Magnus… You have no idea how hard this is for me. I had hoped that you’d both take the news a bit better…” He walked towards her. Another syringe was in his hand.

“Explain it to me, Will!” she shouted. She pushed to get to her feet and found him pushing her back down to the bed. She tried to fight, but she just didn’t have to strength she normally had.

“I’m sorry, Magnus,” he said as he injected her. “You’ll understand…I hope…just not right now…”

Her eyes felt heavy as he held her down as the sedative worked through her system. She breathed in every breath and panicked internally. What had he done to her baby? This little girl that she had barely seen, she hadn’t held, and never given a name to? This was far worse than if the baby had been born in the facility…

“I did what I thought was right, Magnus…”

. . .

The inside of the SHU was familiar, but not somewhere she was used to seeing from the inside. She was John had been locked in together. Helen knew that Nikola was close; they’d heard him complaining rather loudly. At least there was no doubt that their vampire friend was injured. He was far too annoying to be anything but fine.

“At least we’re together,” John said quietly as they sat together.

She knew he was trying to cheer her up, but she was having a hard time keeping the heavy onset of depression pull her under. Helen gave him a small smile, though. “Thank God for small favors.”

His fingers ran though her hair and eventually his fingers ran along her face. “We’ll get her back, you know… We’re going to get out of here.”

“The EM shield is up. We’re locked away in the SHU. High security. It was designed to keep abnormals in. It’s not going to be as easy as wishing our way out, John,” she snapped. She looked up at him and then immediately started to apologize. He was just trying to ease her worry. “I’m sorry, John…I—“

“You haven’t slept since we got here,” John gave her an excuse. “You’re stressed and beyond worried…”

“I still shouldn’t have snapped at you like that,” she said gently and leaned against him and closed her eyes. For a moment, she’d thought that she’d been able to grab a few pieces of bliss from the other universe. They had Halia and they were having a baby… She had thought things were getting so much better…and then this…

Betrayal…

The worst part was that it was betrayal from the people she loved.

She didn’t know what to think, honestly. She knew that Will was the ringleader. She’d not seen Kate. Helen didn’t think that Henry had anything to do with it, but was thankful that he and Erika had Halia right now. But Declan and Bigfoot…they had her child… She couldn’t see either of them being okay with this… To be so cruel as to take her daughter away before she was able to hold her or name her…

“Helen, get some rest…” John suggested.

“If I close my eyes, I’ll just see it again,” she told him.

He didn’t ask her to clarify. She didn’t want to. There was too much weighing her down right now. She was barely hanging onto her sanity.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, she’d felt like she’d started to nod off when John nudged her awake. When she opened her eyes, she found Will on the other side of the glass. How she wished he could give them answers, answers that weren’t cryptic or vague. How she wanted to hope that this wasn’t some kind of coup that he’d planned.

“What do you want?!” John spat as he got to his feet and walked towards the glass. Anger had filled him. Anger and hate. If she hadn’t been so used to John since the energy elemental had taken hold of him, this would have surprised her. Instead, it really didn’t phase her.

Will pressed the intercom button. “I want to talk to Magnus.”

“Do you understand what you’ve done?!”

“John,” Helen said quietly as she got up. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest as she approached the glass. “Give him a chance. He may have good reasons.”

“I can’t think of any,” John said, his tone softened a bit towards her.

“Please,” Helen begged as she turned to him. John was silent. She turned to Will and just stood there in silence.

“I had to do it, Magnus. I knew you wouldn’t be able to make the decision. You’d been through a lot. I didn’t want to bring it up and have your delivery be stressful,” Will tried to explain.

“Why?” she asked quietly. “Why did you feel like you had to send her away?”

“It was too dangerous for the Sanctuary,” he told her. “Those men, they were coming here to take her back… I had to send her somewhere where they wouldn’t find her.”

“You’re lying,” she called him out. “I can see it in your eyes… I would have known if there was a threat against the Sanctuary. A real threat.”

“I kept it from you.”

“I don’t believe you,” she told him.

“I’m sorry.”

“And why wouldn’t you send us all away?” Magnus asked.

Will shook his head. “I thought of that. The doctors were worried that you wouldn’t be okay to be moved medically in time. The plan was for you to join your baby…but now…now we can’t have you tracked to the location.”

“So what? You’re just going to leave the three of us locked away in the SHU like criminals?” Magnus demanded. “You’re going to keep our daughter from us indefinitely?! You have NO right!”

“Please understand, Magnus…”

“No! You made a choice…a choice that you’re going to have to learn to live with, Will! You made the wrong one!” she snapped before turning and walking away from the glass and back to one of the cot-like beds.

. . .

She didn’t know how much time had passed. She’d taken up residence in the bed that she’d decided was hers and hadn’t moved for some time. Helen had just tried to wish the world away. It wasn’t working very well. It still loomed around her.

“Helen, please,” John begged.

Silence passed between them. She watched as he paced nervously. She was making this harder on him, but it was all she could do. The world was far too sad for her to participate in. She didn’t want to live in this reality anymore.

“You have to eat! You have to move, Helen! Speak to me!” he yelled at her. The yelling didn’t last for long. He broke down into tears and crouched down in front of her. His voice was broken. “Helen, please don’t leave me here alone…”

Helen didn’t know how much time had passed, but she’d been moved. She was in a sitting position; her back up against what she had to think was the small wall under the glass near the door. John had moved her for a purpose, but she didn’t know why.

The yelling and screaming began in full. John and Nikola were both making the most horrid noise and pounding on the glass, Helen could only assume to get Will’s attention. Why did they need it though? Will had made himself perfectly clear; he wasn’t going to let them out. He knew that they were all upset. For good reason.

All of the sudden, it stopped at John’s word and he backed up to the back of the cell. “Please, just take her…you’ve been monitoring her…you have to know that something’s not right,” John pleaded.

She heard the electronic sounds of the pin pad being used outside of the cell followed by the familiar sound of the door being pushed open. She found herself being dragged out of the room and set against the outer wall where she’d been set before. Will secured the door and then crouched down in front of her. He looked her over and she imagined he checked her vitals.

. . .

The beeping of medical machines would chirp in here and there. She was somewhere else now. A secured medical room. It was so much quieter and for a moment she believed that she was alone.

“Magnus, I know you don’t understand now,” Will spoke up.

She couldn’t see him, but assumed he was in the room nearby. He was really the last voice she wanted to hear. She missed John. She even missed Tesla’s irritating screaming from down the hall.

“I never wanted it to come to this. I never wanted to throw you in the SHU,” Will continued on. “I had hoped that you would trust me enough to know that I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you…not intentionally anyways…”

Oh how it all hurt. That’s what she was surrounded by. A void of pain and sorrow and emptiness.

“You always ask us to trust you…to make leaps of faith and we do, but this time…” He stopped for a minute. “I know I’m not the one that you’ve known the longest. You should have reason to trust me, but you haven’t known me as long as the Big Guy or Henry or even Declan… But I needed you to trust me.”

She could see him now. He was closer. “She’s safe you know,” Will told her. “I was hoping that you’d calm down and eventually give me her name. I asked Druitt, but he said you two never agreed on one…”

“How I wish I could tell you everything right now,” Will told her. She could hear sadness in his tone. “You’d understand, I’d hope. I have a feeling that even Watson would have told me this was a bad idea though…but he knew you all so much better and longer than I have or ever will… I wish I had a better connection… I wish I could convince you that I’m telling you the truth…”

Tears. She thought it was so odd, but she swore she saw tears fall from his eyes. “Damn it, Magnus! You need to wake up! I know you’re in there!” he yelled at her. “I know you’re mad, but we need you! You can be mad at me all you like, but we need you still!”

Silence fell around them.

The only thing that answered Will was the steady beeping from the medical equipment.

. . .

 

TBC…


	10. Wait...that wasn't the plan!

Chapter 10 – “Wait...that wasn’t the plan!”

 

“It wasn’t supposed to go like this.”

The voice was familiar. It was almost too familiar. It was a voice that she held close to her heart. Helen blinked and tried to allow her mind to take in the voice. It hadn’t been there before. No, it wasn’t Will. It was someone else. Someone she was closer to.

“Declan and the Big Guy expected Magnus and Druitt out on the next flight. Will told them not to worry, that it would give Magnus some time to rest after everything. They got worried when Will stopped returning calls and we happened to stop in.”

Henry.

Her darling Henry.

“She’s so still,” a girl’s voice said. Helen could see her and she blinked again. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. Ashley…no, not Ashley. The pain and sorrow of Ashley’s loss hit her again and her eyes teared. No, this wasn’t her daughter, not biologically. Halia. John’s daughter. She was supposed to be with Henry and Erika. Not here.

“Doc, you’ve gotta wake up,” Henry told her. He came into view now.

“Otherwise, I’m going to have resort to methods that you’re not going to be too thrilled about,” another voice said. This voice, it was Tesla. She couldn’t see him though.

“What’s wrong with her?” another voice asked. A woman’s voice. Erika. Henry had brought both Halia and Erika back to the Sanctuary. Helen didn’t think that was too safe though.

“Probably brought on by depression,” Tesla said. “She was fine at first, wasn’t she?”

“She was, just really upset and completely exhausted,” another voice said. John. John was there too.

“Doc, you gotta wake up,” Henry said again. He was leaning over her and shaking her slightly. “Snap out of it. We’re taking you to see your baby… We’ll figure out this whole Will going rogue thing later.”

“It’s not working,” John said. He came into view now. How worried they all looked, but especially John.

She was slightly aware of her clothes being shifted. She didn’t care what Nikola was up to. She could see him now. He looked extremely irritated. He was moving things and he suddenly looked very determined. “Everyone just stand back!” Nikola said.

“What are you going to do?” came a chorus of the same question.

“Clear!” he yelled before she felt herself being zapped. She was then injected with something. Nikola looked down at her. “Come on, Helen. Time to come back and yell at me for doing this to you,” Nikola said. He zapped her again and suddenly Nikola was arguing with everyone around him. “It’s not like I don’t know what I’m doing,” he told them and then zapped her again.

Her eyes closed for a moment as the pain cascaded through her body. She blinked rapidly and it was like the world took on a sharper color. Helen quickly closed her eyes before slowly opening them again.

“Are you back yet?” Nikola asked, his tone conveyed his irritation with her.

“Maybe,” she could barely get out.

“Good enough,” Nikola said as he pulled thin squares from her skin and straightened her clothing. He forced her quickly up into a sitting position and the world around her swam. He turned to John. “What are you waiting for?”

“UK Sanctuary? Front gates?” John asked.

“That’s what Declan said,” Henry spoke up.

Everything was still spinning and she was still trying to figure out what was really going on. She didn’t fight John when he scooped her up and then carefully shifted her so he held her against him with one hand. Another held onto Tesla. John looked over at Halia who was holding onto Henry and Erika. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” John asked.

Halia smiled. “How do you think we got here?”

“Well, Erika and I did find holes in Tesla’s revamped security protocols,” Henry spoke up.

“There were no holes!” Tesla started to argue.

And then they were off.

. . .

“That was rather rude,” Tesla complained once they materialized in front of the gates of the UK Sanctuary in London.

John sighed and pressed the intercom button to announce their presence. “Do you really think Helen wants to listen to you argue?”

She was being held with both arms now, John was being so careful with her and she found herself grateful for her two oldest friends. No matter what happened, it seemed like they could always come together to work out what needed to be done. She looked up at the Sanctuary she knew the best. The front gates opened and all of them started in.

 

“Welcome home, Helen,” John whispered down to her.

They entered the UK Sanctuary and were greeted by Declan, who then started to fuss over her.

“Don’t worry, I shocked her senses back in her,” Tesla said proudly.

“Let’s get her down to medical,” Declan said as he looked at her.

“Our baby’s here?” John asked.

Declan nodded. “Will told us that you and Magnus would be on the next flight here…or you’d teleport her here…depending on how she felt. When that didn’t happen…and I stopped getting my calls returned, I got worried. We would have never removed her from Old City if we’d have known you weren’t both following immediately.”

“Can we see her?”

“Let’s get Magnus down to medical and I’ll start scans,” Declan suggested. “I’ll let the Big Guy know you’re all here and he can bring the little one down?”

John nodded. Helen held tight to him. It almost seemed like a dream. They were going to be able to finally see their baby. She was going to be able to finally hold her.

. . .

“I’m telling you it was catatonia brought on by depression,” Tesla argued.

“Can you please stop talking about me like I’m not sitting right here?” Helen asked as she sat on the edge of the bed. Declan had already checked her over and said that she looked just fine. Tesla apparently thought that maybe she needed anti-depressants instead.

Erika, Henry, and Halia were off somewhere else. Most likely settling in. She was glad that Henry was there. She knew he’d take care of Halia. It would help her and John focus on what was happening, though she did feel bad for not being able to spend and focus their time on Halia. They hadn’t really planned on this child and she felt like she was cheating Halia out of attention she deserved and probably needed.

“I just want to ensure that you’re not going to sudden stop speaking…eating…moving…” Tesla went on.

“But I’m speaking and moving now,” Helen pointed out.

“You were so depressed, you hit rock bottom.”

Helen just glared at him and then decided it was a better idea to ignore him. Her eyes lit up when Bigfoot walked in holding her baby all bundled up in a pink blanket. She got up, but then was told to sit back down so she did. She’d do anything to hold her baby. Slowly, the baby was set in her arms with care.

Her child looked up at her for the very first time. She couldn’t help the tears. It was like the world around her faded. She felt like this when she first held Ashley, too. She honestly didn’t think that she could love this unexpected gift as much as she did, but this was what she was living for. This small innocent child.

“Eventually, we need to name her,” John said softly. He’d moved behind her so that he could see the baby too.

“I’m afraid I may never let her go,” Helen told him.

John smiled. “She’s beautiful.”

“She’s perfect.”

“You know if you’re thinking about names, Nikola can still work for a girl,” Tesla spoke up as he strode towards them. “You could call her Niki for short.”

Helen shook her head, but the smile wouldn’t leave her face. “We’re not naming her after you.”

“Come on! We’ve been friends for over a hundred and fifty years! Why wouldn’t you name your child after me?”

She just kept smiling and staring at the bundle of joy in her arms. Not even Nikola’s arrogance could darken this moment for her. A name wasn’t even a priority right now, but she was sure that it would be nice and absolutely proper for her daughter to have one soon. “What about Olivia?” she asked. She looked back to John; he was still smiling and looked far too happy. He looked like how she felt right now.

“I think that’s perfect,” John told her.

“What kind of name of Olivia?” Nikola asked. “It’s Latin and means Olive. What are you hoping for peace in this world?”

“Would that be so bad?” Helen asked. She looked back down at her daughter. She ran a finger along her cheek. “Peace wouldn’t be so bad, would it, Olivia?”

. . .

“You have to sleep eventually, Darling,” John said in a whisper.

Declan had assigned her to her old room, apparently James had never allowed anyone else to stay in it. It had been maintained over the decades, but she had to admit that she did greatly appreciate the familiar surroundings. A cradle had been brought in and made up, though Helen hadn’t had the heart to put little Olivia down yet.

“I haven’t even allowed you to hold her yet,” Helen said as she stared down at their daughter. She still felt like if she put Olivia down that she’d wake up and find it was merely a dream or worse…that she’d just disappear.

“I will admit that I would like to,” he said gently. “But I understand that you need to hold her more than I do.”

Helen looked up at him with a smile. “I suppose the connection between mother and child tends to be greater…especially when they’re younger, but you deserve to have time with her too.” A bit reluctantly, she held out their daughter to him and watched as he carefully took her. “Make sure you support her head,” she told him as she watched where he placed his arms.

At least Olivia had been here with Bigfoot and Declan. It had put her mind at ease. Bigfoot had helped her with Ashley when she was an infant, so she knew that he was more than capable. He’d spoken to her privately early…after she and John had agreed on a name. He’d been concerned that she was cross. She couldn’t blame them, even if she wanted to. Will, on the other hand, she had to admit that if she’d been able to lay into him before she had Olivia back, she was fairly sure that she may have killed him…or come close. She remembered that he’d babbled on about it being for a reason, but she couldn’t think of a valid reason to pull her child from her before she could hold her or name her. It just wasn’t right.

“I was worried,” she admitted quietly as she stared straight ahead. “Holding a newborn when they’re born is such a great bonding moment between mother and child. I was afraid that perhaps she wouldn’t know who I was. I didn’t want her to cry in my arms…”

“I doubt a child has ever cried in your arms,” John told her.

Helen smiled up at him and watched him as he swayed with Olivia. “I’m still trying to take in that we have a child…another child…”

“Does it make you sad like you thought she would?”

She thought about his question for a moment. “No,” she said as she continued to think. “I was worried that I would be reminded of Ashley…but there’s so much joy… I want her to grow up happy and to know you and Halia…and I want to tell them both about the sister they’ll never know.”

“Halia’s already asked Henry questions,” John said.

“She’s a smart girl.”

John hummed as he swayed and then after a moment he carefully laid Olivia in the cradle. “There you are.”

“You’re a natural,” she commented from where she sat. Helen was exhausted, both mentally and physically, but she had been afraid if she lay down even for a moment that she wouldn’t be able to get up again. She got to her feet, though she didn’t want to be away from Olivia. She’d acquired a gun earlier and had hidden it under one of the pillows. If someone tried to enter her room, she’d be able to defend her child.

John looked at her. He’d been looking at her like that all day. He was worried. She hated that she’d caused him to worry so intensely about her. “I should let you sleep.”

“Don’t go,” she whispered as she stared at him.

“Helen—“

“I mean it, John,” she said. “I’m terrified that she’ll be taken away again. If you’re here…at least I’ll know that it’ll be that much harder for someone to take her.”

“No one is taking her anywhere.”

Helen reached out and grasped his hand. “Please stay.”

Finally, he nodded in agreement. She smiled and dropped his hand before moving to one side of the bed. She striped down to just a shirt and her panties before sliding into bed. She watched as John merely removed his shoes and then lay on top of the bedding. “We’re both adults, John.”

“I am well aware,” John said. “But, you’re exhausted and earlier today you were in some sort of catatonic state… I think some rest is in order and I don’t want to distract you in anyway.”

Helen just let it go. He was right, she was exhausted. She needed sleep, though with a newborn they’d be woken up several times. It may not be the best idea with how tired she was, but she wanted Olivia close by.

She lay back in bed and made herself comfortable. Relaxing took a little bit longer. She curled up against John and tried to let everything go. Helen tried to focus on being tired, hoping that it would help. It didn’t at first, but eventually she fell asleep thinking of Olivia.

. . .

 

TBC…


	11. No Rest for the Wicked

Chapter 11 – “ No Rest for the Wicked”

 

The security alarms going off in the middle of the night was not a welcomed sound. The first thing Helen did after pulling the gun from under the pillow was to bolt out of bed to check on Olivia. Bigfoot was sitting next to the cradle with her daughter in his arms; a bottle was in his hand. She hadn’t even heard him enter. John had, she could tell by the look on his face. He wasn’t surprised to see Bigfoot there.

“I wanted to make sure you were able to rest,” Bigfoot told her.

Olivia started to cry and Helen was sure it was because of the alarms sounding. She held out her arms, wanting to hold her child. If the Sanctuary was under attack, she wanted to have her daughter as close as possible. Bigfoot handed the swaddled baby over and she watched as he set down the bottle.

“We should see what’s triggered the alarms,” she said as she bouncing Olivia a bit to try to quiet her.

“Perhaps you may want to put on pants first,” John suggested.

Helen had almost forgotten that she’d gone to bed in only her shirt and panties. Not exactly the outfit to run around the Sanctuary in. John was close by, so she passed Olivia to him. She knew he hadn’t been able to spend a lot of time with her and she figured this was a good moment.

She quickly pulled on her pants and shoes and was back to John to collect Olivia from him within minutes. She wasn’t worried about how she looked right now. She was worried about why the alarms were going off and having her daughter close to her.

. . .

“You have got to be kidding me!” Henry exclaimed as they looked at the security footage.

“It appears that your protégé has decided that he’s ready to take over the whole Sanctuary Network…by force if necessary,” Tesla commented as he turned and looked over at her.

They were all gathered. Halia was standing close to her and John, which she thought was probably for the best because if something happened they could protect her. She wasn’t used to life in the Sanctuary and the possible need to defend one’s self.

They could tell from the cameras on the outside that Will and Kate and a bunch of others had gathered outside and were trying to take down their defenses. “Our defenses aren’t going to hold for that long with all of them working to get in,” Declan said.

“Maybe Henric and I can work to keep them out longer,” Tesla suggested.

“And Erika,” Henry spoke up.

“The question is why are they here? Are they after Helen or Olivia? Or all of us?” Druitt asked.

“I think a better question is why is he doing all of this?” Tesla proposed.

“He never revealed his reasons,” Helen spoke up. “He just wanted me to trust him and he said eventually he hoped that I would understand.” She honestly couldn’t wrap her head around any of this. Will wasn’t like this, not normally. Helen frowned as she looked up at the live camera feed and then looked down at Olivia in her arms. She couldn’t fathom what Will’s reasoning behind separating her from her daughter. “We have to factor in the possibility that Will and Kate may be infected by some kind of virus or micro-abnormal.”

“We were all at the Sanctuary when he went crazy,” Tesla pointed out. “The rest of us aren’t infected.”

“We left,” Halia spoke up for the first time. “Henry, Erika, and I were gone.” She looked over at her father. “And you three…and the baby…maybe your source blood protects you.”

Helen blinked. She hadn’t had this super complicated talk with Halia. They’d told her the basics. But she didn’t know who Tesla was. This was pretty much the first time he’d been in the same room with Halia. “How—“

“Henry told me everything,” Halia said. “About the source blood…The Five…Ashley…”

Henry frowned a bit. “I sort of had to, Doc,” he was quiet a moment. “I know you two probably wanted to tell her slowly, but it had to be done in order to explain things.”

“Henry was very good about explaining it and everything,” Erika piped up.

“She’s right, though,” Tesla spoke up. “Smart half-blood offspring.” He smirked over at Halia. “Are you sure Druitt’s your father?”

Halia smiled at him. “Pretty sure.”

John growled a bit at Tesla and glared at him.

“Behave boys,” Helen said as she took a step forward. “Declan, we need to find a way to neutralize them without hurting them. If Will and Kate are infected, then who knows who else out there may be as well.”

“If that’s true, then is it possible that those of us without source blood running through us can be infected?” Declan asked.

“What he said,” Henry spoke up and pointed to Declan.

Helen looked at all of them. “I honestly don’t know.”

. . .

“John has a point,” Tesla spoke up. “And that’s something I don’t admit often…well…ever.”

Helen shook her head. “I can’t just leave you all.”

“The Big Guy can go with you,” Declan spoke up. “You two take Olivia and Halia and get them to safety. Whatever Will’s plan is, it obviously involves you and Olivia. Until we find out what he wants…it’s best that we keep you two safe.”

“He’s unstable, he won’t hesitate to lock you all up,” Helen pointed out. “He’ll throw you all in the SHU like he did the three of us.”

John took a hold of her and turned her towards him. He stared in her face. “Helen, you listen to me. You have to trust all of us standing in this room. We’re telling you that we’ll stay and hold as long as we can. You take Halia and Olivia and you get our girls to safety,” John told her. “Take your bigfoot with you to keep you safe. You need someone to watch your back…and as much as I’d love for it to be me…I’m needed more here.”

“John—“

“I have to keep them from destroying this place,” John told her, his voice softening. “Your old home…the place that James kept preserved for so long…”

Tears filled her eyes, but she didn’t allow them to fall. She couldn’t argue with him. She trusted them all. That didn’t mean that running away was made any harder. Though anyone could take Halia and Olivia, they deserved to have a parent of some kind with them, just in case. She nodded after a moment.  
“There are blueprints of this Sanctuary, the catacombs and their exits are listed on them,” Helen spoke up after a moment. “There’s a chance that we’ll run into someone if we take that route.”

“Do we really have many other safe options?” Bigfoot asked as he entered. He had three bags that he set down before he approached the group. “We take the tunnel that’s going to take us to the exit farthest from the Sanctuary. If we run into people, then we’ll be prepared for them,” Biggie said.

“You two have to go somewhere off the map,” Declan said. “Will knows you and the Sanctuary Network well enough to find you if you merely try to hide at one of the other houses. You really have to hide.”

Helen hated the thought of not being able to take sanctuary at any of the other houses. They would have to be forever vigilant out wherever they would go. She couldn’t even think of a place right now. They would figure it out, but she would rather have a plan to start with.

“Let’s get you on your way,” John said as he turned to her again.

“I don’t want to leave you all to this,” Helen admitted. John held out his hands for Olivia and she handed their child over to him.

“We’ll be okay, Magnus,” Declan said with confidence.

She still felt close to crying. This was incredibly hard for her. She approached Henry and hugged him, holding him close. “You promise me that you’ll take care of yourself and Erika,” she whispered. Henry was like a son to her and she’d just brought herself to admit it not too long ago and leaving him behind was hard. He’d grown up in all of this and sometimes she wondered if that had been wrong of her to subject Henry and Ashley to her world.

“We’re going to be fine, Doc,” Henry said.

Erika touched her shoulder and Helen reached out and held the other woman’s hand for a moment. “I mean it, watch out for each other.”

“We will,” Erika promised.

She turned to Tesla and Druitt. John was still holding Olivia and talking to her. He seemed so happy, this made it that much harder. Nikola held up his hand before she could touch him.

“Don’t go hugging me,” Tesla said. “We both know you won’t be able to peel yourself away from me if you even touch me.”

Helen couldn’t help but laugh at that. Oh Nikola, how she loved him. He had this way about him that always kept her from taking things far too seriously. The tears fell, but she wiped them away immediately.

“Don’t worry… I’ll keep John and the children from dying,” Tesla went on after a moment.

She knew what he meant. “Thank you,” she whispered with a smile.

Saying goodbye for now to John was something she really didn’t want to do. He handed Olivia to her and he turned to Halia. Helen held Olivia close as she waited to speak with John, but she found Olivia being pulled from her arms by Bigfoot and a jacket being held out to her.

“I thought I was the one that was supposed to be mothering,” Helen commented as she accepted the jacket and pulled it on. She buttoned it up and watched as her old friend bundled up Olivia with a larger and warmer blanket.

“Helen,” John spoke up behind her. She turned to him, not wanting to say goodbye. She would see them all again soon enough, she knew this. “No matter where you go, I will find you. We’ll make it safe for you and the girls…and we’ll bring you home. I promise you that.”

She nodded. She still didn’t want to leave them, but how could she argue with the safety of Halia and Olivia? Helen was trying to keep from becoming any more emotional than she already was. It would only make things harder for everyone. John pulled her into his arms and she wrapped hers around him. She closed her eyes and didn’t want to leave him. When he released her, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. He kissed her forehead.

“Stay safe, Helen.”

Helen smiled a little. “Always.”

. . .

With jackets and backpacks in place, they headed into the catacombs. Halia and Bigfoot had the flashlights as she held tight to Olivia. She was happy that Olivia didn’t seem to cry very often. If the alarms went off, she cried, but she just seemed happy to be held right now. They moved at a reasonable pace and she found herself happy that someone else was going with her.

“We need to start thinking about where to go, Magnus,” Bigfoot spoke up as they continued ahead.

“Once we’re far enough away, then we’ll figure it out,” she replied. She couldn’t concentrate on that now. First, they needed to get out of here.

She honestly thought they were home free. Helen had been in those catacombs enough when she was younger. How she missed London. How she missed her home. She missed the old days, but she wouldn’t give up the family she had right now. She’d give anything to have Ashley and James back, though.

The blast came out of nowhere. Halia was down before she could blink. They were so close to the end of the catacombs. “No! Please! She’s just a child!” Helen yelled.

“Relax, it’s just a stunner.” Flashlights across from them were lit and she could see two people she hadn’t expected to see. Kate and Abby. Kate had been the one speaking. “Couldn’t risk her teleporting.”

Bigfoot moved between her and them. He was protecting her and Olivia. “Why are you doing this?” she asked.

“You’ll understand, Doc, but just not now,” Kate told her.

“Let us pass,” Bigfoot said.

“We can’t,” Abby spoke up.

“I won’t let you hurt them,” he said before running at them. Bigfoot made it about half the distance before he was stunned and fell to the ground.

“Sorry,” Abby said and cringed as he hit the ground.

Helen took a step back and held Olivia close. “Please don’t do this! He’ll take her away again!” She couldn’t bear to be separated from her baby again. Tears filled her eyes. How had they gotten here? “Please tell me so I understand!” she pleaded as they both held up stunners on her.

“I wish we could,” Abby said quietly.

“You can!” Helen yelled at her. Olivia started to cry and Helen tried to figure out someway to escape. She could take down Abby and Kate, she was sure even with the stunners in their hands, but doing it so that Olivia was kept safe was another thing. She didn’t think she could do it. There was too high a risk. She didn’t know what a stray stunner hit on an infant would do.

“You have to give her to Abby,” Kate said.

Helen shook her head as tears fell. She kneeled down between Halia and Bigfoot. This was as far as they were going. They wouldn’t see the outside world…whatever hideaway they would have come up with. “Please,” she pleaded as she rocked Olivia in her arms.

“I’ll keep her safe,” Abby said as she approached her. She’d set her stunner down and as much as Helen knew she could take down Abby and Kate, there was still far too much risk involved in it.

“Please…at least don’t take her away,” Helen cried. “I’ve already lost Ashley…I can’t handle Olivia being taken away again…” Her heart was already breaking inside of her. The darkness that had consumed her before was fighting to pull her back to that void. She didn’t want to be locked away there; she wanted to stay in the sun with Olivia.

“Olivia?” Abby asked. “That’s a beautiful name.” She was close now, but wasn’t pushing her.

“Tell Will that I’ll come voluntarily if he lets me keep her,” Helen said. “Please…” she said as she looked up at them both.

Kate shook her head. “That’s not how it’s going to work. I’m sorry. Really.”

Helen continued to rock Olivia; she had quieted at the very least. Small blessings. “I don’t understand,” she cried as she stared at Abby. “She’s the one thing in the world that I love the most…why does she have to be taken away from me?”

“I promise she’ll be safe,” Abby said as she held out her arms.

She couldn’t. She looked down at her sleeping daughter. Her precious Olivia. She kissed her forehead and Helen closed her eyes for a moment. Helen didn’t know what else she could do. They weren’t going to let her go, they’d made that quite clear. Helen opened her eyes and looked back at Abby. “What will happen to her?”

“She’ll be taken care of,” Abby told her. “I promise nothing’s going to happen to her.”

“He’ll send her away again,” Helen said.

“No,” Abby told her. She reached out and touched her shoulder. Helen pulled away for a moment. “I promise you, I will watch over Olivia and make sure she’s okay. Once you’re settled back in Old City, I promise you that I’ll make sure you can see her.”

“Abby—“ Kate said from behind.

Abby looked back over her shoulder. “I can promise at least that.” She looked back at her. Helen still didn’t want to give her up. Tears were still rushing down her face. As if she were ripping out her own heart, Helen handed Olivia over to Abby. Sobs overtook her as she doubled over and wrapped her arms around herself. How it felt like her heart had been ripped out.

“I’m sorry,” Kate spoke up and the last thing Helen heard was the sound of the stunner.

. . .

TBC…


	12. I'm Not that Girl

Chapter 12 – “I’m Not that Girl”

 

Home. Another home. She was back in Old City, which was what they said would happen. Slowly, she managed to bring herself to a sitting position. Helen didn’t quite feel right…like she was sick. She hadn’t been sick before. She looked around quickly and found that she was alone. Tears filled her eyes. Olivia was no where in sight. They took her daughter again, she knew that Abby had promised that she’d be able to see Olivia again once she’d settled, but she felt like she really couldn’t believe her.

There was a knock on the door and she looked towards it but didn’t say anything. The door swung open anyways. Will walked in. Was he going to pretend like nothing was wrong? Was he going to finally explain himself?

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

Helen just stared at him. She didn’t want to play games. If he thought he could pretend like there was nothing wrong, he was in for a rude wake-up call. That was not how things were going to work. She wouldn’t play along.

“Okay…” Will said slowly. “I’m glad you didn’t resist Kate and Abby…that’s good. We’re not trying to hurt anyone.”

“You already have,” she spoke up.

“I know everything’s still confusing—“

“So clear things up,” Helen interrupted quickly.

Will shook his head and paced a bit. “I can’t…not yet… I need a little more time first.”

“Time for what?”

“I’m looking for something,” he told her vaguely.

Helen pushed the blankets back and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She was tired even though she’d been sleeping. Her head was a little fuzzy. They’d done something to her, she was sure of it. “When can I see Olivia?” she asked, trying to remain calm. She folded her hands in her lap as she watched him.

Will stopped and turned to her. “I know this is hard—“

“Hard?! You ordered my child away before I could hold her or give her a name! You locked me up and forced me into a catatonic state and then you had her taken away from me again!” she snapped. Helen pushed herself to her feet. She advanced and he backed up. “Where. Is. My. Daughter?” she asked.

“She’s safe, Magnus!” Will told her quickly. “You have to know I wouldn’t hurt her!”

“I don’t know that!” she yelled. Helen motioned around. “You’ve thrown me in here and done something to me! For all I know you expect me to act as if nothing’s happened! You may as well have ripped my heart out yourself, Will! Why not just kill me? Doesn’t look as good on your resume with the network if you can just get me declared mentally unfit?!”

“Whoa!” Will yelled and pushed her back. “That’s not what I want!” He moved away from her. He turned and faced her. “Did I give you something? Yes! I gave you a small dosage of sedative so you wouldn’t wake up and possibly hurt yourself!” He shook his head. “I’m trying to do what I think is right, Magnus! Trust me!”

“I don’t! Not anymore,” she snapped. Helen glared at him and then lowered her voice. “I never will again…”

“I hope you change your mind,” Will said. “I honestly do. I’m doing this all for you. I brought you back here so you could be back as head of the Old City Sanctuary and of the Sanctuary Network!”

“Why?” she asked. Helen tilted her head trying to think of possible motives he had. “Obviously you don’t think I’m stable! You won’t even allow my own daughter to be with me!”

“Look! I never wanted to put you in the SHU,” Will told her. “That was the last thing that I wanted.”

She stepped towards him. She was beyond pissed with him. “Make. Me. Understand.”

“I can’t,” Will admitted. “Not yet.”

“I want to understand!” she yelled.

“I want to tell you!”

“Then tell me!”

“It’s too soon… I don’t have it yet!”

Helen shook her head. “I don’t believe you. If you wanted everything you say, then you’d have set up a cradle in here and have handed me my daughter.”

“She’s safe, Magnus.”

“Is she here? Is she close?” she asked. Helen wondered if Abby had really brought her back to Old City and if she was there watching the infant.

“She’s SAFE,” Will repeated.

Helen shook her head and let the tears fall. “Just kill me!” she yelled at him as she opened her arms. “I don’t want to fall into a catatonic state again just to be saved and then have her taken again! I can’t…I can’t…” She sucked in breath and then wrapped her arms around herself as she snapped her eyes closed shut. She allowed herself to sink to her knees. “I lost Ashley,” she breathed. “I can’t lose Olivia.”

“You haven’t lost her.”

“You took her,” she cried. “The happiest thing in my life…and you took her.”

. . .

At least she had a window with a descent view. It was better than the places she’d been lately. She sat by it and just stared out. This place had once been her home, her sanctuary…now it was her prison. Her face was sore and swollen from all the crying. It was dark and the moon was high. She’d been trying to keep from pacing, it only drove her crazy.

There was a light knock at the door and then the door was opened. She turned and was shocked at who entered. “Olivia!” she practically yelled, though she’d started to lose her voice. She hurried from the window and towards Abby.

“Shh…not so loud,” Abby chastised. “Will thinks this is a bad idea…but I promised…and I’m sure Olivia wanted to see her mom.”

Helen took her daughter from Abby and immediately started to look her over. Smith had wanted her child, so who knew what Will wanted her for. He had to want her. Otherwise, why would he keep taking her away?

“No one’s done anything to her,” Abby said.

“Please tell me you’re going to leave her with me,” Helen said and then kissed her daughter’s forehead.

“I wish I could,” Abby said. “Will’s sleeping…he doesn’t even know I brought her here. And…I would really appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to him. I’ll be able to keep bringing her to visit, but he can’t know.”

“Why is he doing this? Why are YOU doing this?” she asked as she walked around with Olivia. Her child was sleepy, but she was just happy to have Olivia in her arms.

“He’s doing what he thinks is right,” Abby said.

Helen nodded. “I’ve heard that before.”

“I’m doing this…well, he asked me to help,” Abby admitted. “But I don’t think it’s right to keep Olivia from her mother. I don’t think it’s good for you or Olivia, especially since she’s so young. And Will knows this.”

Abby was exactly right, Will should know this. “We think he and Kate may have been infected—“

“No,” Abby said. “He’s doing this for a very distinct reason…and when you find out why…I really hope you won’t hate us all…at least maybe you’ll be able to forgive us all eventually.”

Helen sighed and just walked around and stared down at her daughter. “Whatever this ‘right thing’ is that Will keeps going on about…does it involve Olivia?”

“No.”

“Then why won’t he let her stay with me?”

“He has his reasons, though I don’t agree with them,” Abby admitted. “That’s why I’m here.”

Helen turned to Abby. “If I could have Olivia with me…I would do whatever he wants. I’ll even pretend like none of this happened… I could convince the others as well,” she told her.

“I’ll talk to him about letting Olivia stay with you,” Abby said. “I don’t know how much good it will do to bring it up again, but I will try.” Abby smiled. “She’s such a good baby…sort of makes me want to have one.”

Helen smiled at her. “I’m sure you’d be an excellent mother.” And she meant it. It was obvious that Abby had kept her promise and was taking care of Olivia. She was grateful for that. She looked back at Olivia, she was fast asleep. “How much time do I have?”

Abby shrugged. “A little bit longer. If Will wakes up and notices that I’m gone…this’ll be the first place he looks for her.”

“Promise me, no matter what…that you’ll keep her safe?” Magnus asked.

“Of course,” Abby said. “I promise.”

Tears were pushing through the pain as she kissed Olivia’s forehead again. She moved back towards Abby. “You best take her then before you’re found out…” she said as her voice started to break. Helen carefully slid her back into Abby’s arms.

“Are you sure? I’m sure you could have some more time,” Abby said as she accepted the child.

Helen nodded. “Thank you…for bringing her and keeping your promise.”

“Of course,” Abby said as she headed towards the door.

“Abby?” Helen called as she walked back towards the window.

“Yes?”

Helen stared straight out into the night and allowed her tears to continue to freely fall. “I forgive you.”

. . .

Helen tried to make it work. She wanted to cooperate a bit and hoped that Will would then allow her to have Olivia in her room. Her secret with Abby was kept quiet though. She wouldn’t have that bit of joy be taken away. It was what she looked forward to.

“You ready?” Will asked.

This was their new routine. It was extremely odd, but she pretended like it was normal. “Ready,” she told him with a smile. He would knock on her door in the morning and ask her if she was ready, they would then proceed to her office where her breakfast would be waiting for her. He’d leave her there with work to go through.

It was just the beginning of the day. He was testing her, she knew that. So, she tried to be on her best behavior. Did she plan on sticking around? No. She would knock Will out every morning if it weren’t for the increased presence of guards throughout her Sanctuary. It was extremely odd, like they’d been taken over by the military. She was sure it was for her, though.

Later, he would return and then take her down and they’d walk the residential hallways and check up on the abnormals there. It was refreshing, but she also kept an eye out for her missing people. She knew that they had to be there. If Olivia was there, then she was certain that Will had brought everyone else as well. That way they were all close at hand in case they were needed.

She’d have lunch down in her lab where she’d work through slight medical problems that some of the abnormals were having.

Through all of this, she was starting to plan out each step of her escape. She had ruled out her people being held in residential and was fairly certain that Will had locked them up in the SHU like he had done with her before. It was honestly be where she’d put them, though Declan wasn’t THAT much of a threat. He could have just been locked in any room. The others were all abnormals.

The SHU, she could work with. She wouldn’t compromise the security as a whole, but she knew that she could figure out a way to override security in each cell. Finding Olivia, she figured would be easier, from Abby it seemed to be that Abby was staying in Will’s room and in turn…so was Olivia. She’d take her daughter last and hopefully in the process they could knock out the EM shield so that John and Halia could transport them all out immediately.

This time they would run full speed and not look back. She didn’t care if they had to go into hiding, she could do that. If it meant that she could have Halia and those she loved back…then she’d suffer through it.

Pretending was the hardest part. Whenever she saw an opening, it went through her mind to knock Will out and just run for it. She had to forget that urge. There was a plan. Helen had to follow the plan. She just had to wait for the right opening.

. . .

 

The Sanctuary’s alarms went off and she hurried from her office and found Will and Kate in the hallway. “What on Earth is going on?” she asked. Normally, Henry would be the one informing her of this, as she didn’t have full access to their systems.

“Sanctuary’s under attack,” Kate summarized.

“By whom?!”

“I think it’s that group that took you, Druitt, and Tesla,” Will said.

“Why do you think that?” Helen asked.

Will sighed. “They buzzed in before they set off the alarms. He says his name is Smith and he wants to talk to you. He wants Olivia.”

Helen just stared at Will. She honestly didn’t know if he would just hand her daughter over or if he’d actually be her friend in some small way and deny Smith. “You can’t give her to him,” Helen told him.

“I know that,” Will told her. “It wasn’t even an option.”

“I honestly thought that John and Nikola had killed them all…including Smith,” Helen said.

“From Declan’s report, that’s what it sounded like,” Kate agreed.

“I’m going to allow Smith to enter to negotiate,” Will said. “Maybe there’s some compromise we can come up with? I think we’ve had enough Sanctuaries under attack this week.”

She’d planned on escaping during lunch, but now this. It seemed like there was going to have to be a change of plan. Helen honestly didn’t know if it was for the best or the worst. All she knew was that this could be her chance to find out what exactly Smith’s goals were, because she didn’t feel like he had been sincere before.

. . .

TBC…


	13. Defying Gravity

Chapter 13 – “Defying Gravity”

 

It felt like nails on a chalkboard to even allow Smith to walk into the foyer of her Sanctuary. Helen stood back near the staircase with her arms crossed over her chest. She meant to stay quiet there. She wanted to observe, that was all. She wanted to see what Smith wanted of Olivia and to see if there was ever any consideration from Will. She needed to gage them both and this was her chance.

Helen really wanted to ensure that the threat of Smith was completely eliminated, but she was pretty sure that Will would stop her before she could kill him. She didn’t think that there should be any problem with his death. It would keep them all safe. With Smith out there, he was only going to keep coming back for them.

Smith entered the Sanctuary doors alone and unarmed as Will had stipulated. His face was bruised all over. There were cuts that were in different stages of healing, it was obvious that John and Nikola had gotten to him and most likely left him for dead. Sadly, Smith hadn’t just died there… When he scanned the room, he had glared in her direction though she wasn’t surprised. She had just given him a friendly smile in response.

“I’m Will Zimmerman,” Will spoke up and held out his hand. Smith ignored it. “What do you want here?”

“I’m not dealing with you,” Smith told him frankly. “I’ll only talk to Doctor Magnus.”

“No,” Will told him. “You’re going to talk to me.”

“I want what I was promised,” Smith told him.

“Which is?”

“Scans and samples from the child of Doctor Magnus and John Druitt. I want that child,” Smith told him. “I will level this building if I need to.”

“That won’t do anything but put her in harm’s way,” Will pointed out.

Smith shrugged. “Then cooperate.”

“I’m willing to give you a copy of her DNA profile and pattern,” Will offered. “But that’s it.”

“You know that Doctor Magnus and I had a deal,” Smith said. “Before she broke that deal… I told her I wouldn’t experiment on the child and I would release all of them once I was able to take the samples and scans I wanted.”

“Accelerating the pregnancy was NOT part of our deal!” Magnus snapped. “Do you realize how that could have affected the baby? Her lungs might not have been fully developed…or worse…”

“You think that we didn’t think of that? We planned on monitoring you quite closely,” Smith said. “Remember, what my goal is…it’s still the same… All I want are the samples and scans.”

Will interrupted. “You kidnapped three people, she didn’t escape. Our people rescued them.” He paused for a moment. “Now, you can take the print out or you can just leave…either way, you’re going to leave this house.”

“Our deal—“

“Isn’t valid.”

Helen was happy to see that Will wasn’t handing over her, Olivia, Druitt, or Tesla. It gave her small comfort. It was something at least. Maybe it was just a bit to remind her that Will wasn’t so bad…at least not in this aspect.

“If you change your mind,” Smith began.

Will interrupted again. “We won’t.”

She watched as Smith left. How she wished she could stop worrying about him. She was still worried that he’d somehow get a hold of her daughter. Helen really couldn’t trust Will, not even now. She had to trust that Abby would protect her daughter when she couldn’t. Helen couldn’t see Abby handing over Olivia so that Will could hand her over to Smith.

Helen would do whatever she had to in order to protect her daughter.

. . .

With the Sanctuary still under attack, Helen ended up being forced to tag along with Will. With Smith and his people still outside their doors, Will was calling in the local police in order to have them hauled away.

“Their leader is a man called Smith. He demanded we hand over my boss’ baby and apparently he thinks doing so will save the world,” Will told the police.

In summarization, it was actually very close to being accurate to what Smith wanted. Helen had to admit that given the current situation that it was a smart plan. Smith and his people would look like some kind of cult and that would be enough to have them hauled off and subjected to a psychiatric exam.

Once Will was off the phone, he turned to her. “I hope you know that you can trust me,” Will said.

“Honestly? I would trust you more if I was able to have my daughter back,” Helen told him. Maybe that wasn’t completely true, but it would be enough to get her to cooperate more. Olivia was definitely her weakness, but if Will was smarter, he’d use that against her and yet do so more wisely. Him keeping Olivia from her was only pissing her off all the more.

“Not yet,” Will told her.

“When then?”

Will shook his head. “If I hand over Olivia, you’re going to run.”

“How do you know that?” she challenged.

“It’s what you were doing in the catacombs.”

Helen nodded. “That’s true. John and I agreed that the children’s safety came first and I was told to take Olivia AND Halia.”

“Magnus, I know how you think of Halia,” Will said. “I was in that other universe too. I saw how you wanted to be part of that family… I know that’s why you searched for her.”

“It wasn’t only for me,” Helen told him, which was true. She’d done it for herself, but she’d also done it for John and for Halia as well.

“If we clear this up soon, I promise that I’ll have Olivia brought to you,” Will told her. “But only for a visit.”

“I won’t forget,” Helen told him.

. . .

Distractions.

This was her chance.

She had to trust her instincts.

Helen started to go through her room. Thankfully they’d left her room mostly intact. She’d dressed in a blouse and skirt earlier that morning, but now…this…this called for something that wouldn’t restrict movement. So, instead she changed into something that gave her the ability to move quickly. She didn’t need restrictive clothing.

She had a bag with some supplies. It would definitely be a start. Her plan was going to depend on her. And so would others. She needed to find Olivia. She assumed with what Abby had said, that Abby was staying in Will’s room and in turn so was Olivia. She was going to end this now.

Taking out the two guards outside of her room was incredibly easy. She took their weapons and hurried down the hallway. She headed towards Will’s room, but ended up having to change plans when she ducked back against a wall when she saw Will hurrying towards his own room. Her heart raced for a moment, wondering if Will would come and take Olivia. She moved closer to the room, but was afraid of being seen by the guards. She could hear Will and Abby though. Will was telling her that she needed to stay where she was and if he told her that she needed to take Olivia and run to the catacombs.

She’d circle back as much as she didn’t want to. Stealthily she headed towards the elevator. The nearest one would work and would be able to get her to the SHU and isolation. She wasn’t sure where Will was holding the others. She just prayed that they were all at the Old City Sanctuary.

In the elevator, she pressed the appropriate button and then leaned back against the wall. Helen let out a breath she’d been holding and told herself that things were going to be okay. Everything was going to work out. It was just going to take a bit longer and things wouldn’t be how she imagined them before.

How the world changed when you were living it.

Helen still didn’t know how Will could have changed so much. She knew that there were times when Will really didn’t agree with her, but she had never thought that things would come to this… For them to be on opposite sides.

Will had told her that he wanted to put her back as the head of the Old City Sanctuary and the Sanctuary Network. Helen was pretty sure she could manage that…and without Will’s help. The question was, what was she going to do with Will and Kate then? Abby, she could let go. After all, the woman had been taking care of her child and had given her the kindness of being able to visit with Olivia and against Will’s orders.

She would do what she had to, though. It was the only way she knew how to do things. It was why she’d survived for the last two hundred and seventy three years. She wasn’t going to back down now if she could take back what was hers. She’d push and she’d put things back together once everything was done and over.

. . .

TBC…


	14. For Good

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! Another story will pick things up though!

Chapter 14 – “For Good”

 

Helen avoided the guards…and even Kate. She managed to make it to the SHU and to make it to the point where she was pretty sure she’d narrowed down where they had to be held. It didn’t make sense for Will to keep those of their friends who were abnormals anywhere else. Isolation would be easy to break out of if they wanted unless they were all sedated. Sedation would take a lot of attention and Will didn’t have the time for that right now.

She still wanted Olivia, but she tried to push her focus on the others. After all, they’d make good back up. Helen knew she could use the help.

“Nikola!” she shouted when he came into view. Her face lit up as she neared the cell. He looked pissed and rightly so.

“Took you long enough!” he shouted back as he approached the glass.

Helen approached the keypad at the side of the door and entered the code. It opened immediately and she found herself being hugged. She smiled. “It’s good to see you too.”

“Just so you know,” Tesla said after he stepped back. “Your protégé doesn’t provide very good room service.”

“I’m sure you can bring it up with him later,” she said and looked farther down. She could see Bigfoot and John farther down at the glass at separate cells and assumed that Will had separated them all. She repeated the process on each cell and was reunited with everyone, even Declan. The only person they were missing now was Olivia. “Is everyone alright?” Helen asked them.

“Except the increased urge to pound in Will’s face?” Henry asked.

“Get in line,” Helen told him. She tilted her head slightly. “Henry, Erika. We need to get the EM shield down. Do you think you can manage that?”

Henry nodded. “And might I suggest we pick up some stunners?”

“Excellent idea.” She turned to the others. “We have to get to Olivia.”

“She could be anywhere,” Nikola said.

“She’s with Abby in Will’s room,” Helen told them. “I tried to get her before, but there were too many people there.”

“Man, I can’t believe Abby’s involved,” Henry complained.

Helen smiled over at Henry. “Never fear, though. She’s been allowing me to see Olivia even though Will told her not to…so whatever’s going on…she’s still Abby.”

“Stunners and reinforcements should be enough to get the little angel,” Declan said.

Helen nodded. “There’s a cache of stunners not fair from here,” she said and then looked over to Henry. “Don’t be long.”

“We won’t be,” he said as he and Erika started off in the direction they needed to go.

Helen led the others and just hoped that the stunners were where they had been before and that this would be easy enough. She didn’t want anything to honestly happen to any of the guards or even Will. If they were under some kind of influence then they were innocent in all of this. If nothing else, they were doing what they thought was right. She would get her daughter back though.

Once they had stunners, she felt a bit more confidant and allowed Declan to lead the way. She waited and hugged Halia when she was close enough. “Are you okay, Darling?” she asked. She’d seen the surprised look on John’s face, but she hadn’t forgotten the girl, she’d just been distracted.

“I’m okay,” Halia whispered as she hugged Helen for a moment as well. “But I’m ready to see my little sister,” she told her.

“I never wanted harm to come to you,” she explained.

“I know,” Halia told her. “They were worried I’d teleport us all, weren’t they?”

Helen just nodded and let Halia go and then kissed her head. “You were far more dangerous than the Big Guy or myself,” she told her. “At least they saw it that way.”

Halia smiled. “It’s going to be okay,” she said confidently. “We’re going to get Olivia.”

“Let’s go then,” John said. “Declan and Tesla are going to have all the fun before we even get the elevator otherwise.”

Helen wrapped an arm around Halia and the three of them hurried their pace towards where the others were. They weren’t too far ahead. They could still catch up. These people who were standing with her were her family, she knew that she could trust them…and she couldn’t allow Halia to think that she was forgotten or unloved.

. . .

“Please, this isn’t going to help anything,” Abby pleaded. She was by the window of the room with Olivia in her arms. She looked genuinely concerned and worried.

“Hand over the child,” John said all too calmly as he slowly approached her.

“John,” she said and he stopped. Helen handed off her stunner and headed towards Abby. “She’s been allowing me to see Olivia and she’s been taking care of her…we can’t fault her for that… She thought she was doing what was right,” Helen said. She closed the distance between her and Abby. “But now it’s time to give me back my daughter,” she said quietly as she held out her arms.

Abby handed over Olivia and made sure Helen had her blanket and everything. “The bag’s by the door,” she told her. “I just fed her and burped her…so she should be okay for a while…” Abby looked around quickly. She reached over to the cradle and pulled a stuffed bunny. “And she likes this,” she said as she handed it to Helen.

“Thank you, Abby,” Helen said softly. “Stay here now…so we don’t have to use the stunner on you?”

Abby just nodded.

“I’m sure Will already knows that we’re all on the loose, no reason for you to be running about and getting shot by accident,” she said. Slowly, she moved back to the others with Olivia in her arms. She looked down and was happy to see that Olivia looked unharmed.

“Don’t forget the bag,” Abby said.

“I got it,” Halia spoke up as she picked up the bag.

Quieter, Abby added. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this…”

They headed out of the room, closing the door behind them. Helen just hoped that Abby stayed in place. She honestly didn’t want to cause her any harm. She just wanted her daughter and now that she had her…they just needed to get to safety.

She paused in the hallway after a moment. Helen handed Halia the bunny and unwrapped Olivia so that she could get a better look at her. She just had to know that her baby was okay. At this point she didn’t know if they were going to try to take back the Sanctuary now or if they were just going to run…and if they ran…she needed to be sure that Olivia was okay.

“Helen?” John asked.

“She’s okay…I just…I needed to be sure,” Helen said. “No needle marks.”

“Let’s get out of here then,” Henry said from behind them. “EM shield is down.”

“We’re going to have to go in groups,” John said.

“I can’t go yet,” Helen said.

“Magnus, you have Olivia…we have everyone Will locked up, what else do you need to do?” Declan asked.

She turned to him. “Will’s up to something… He wouldn’t tell me what exactly. Abby even had made mention of something they can’t tell me about. I need to find out what it is,” she told him. “We need to be prepared.”

“So, what do that mean? You’re going to track him down?” Tesla asked. “Because I volunteer to track him down…and shake him up a bit.”

“I think his office will have the information,” she said. “I’m sure we’ll run into Will again… I don’t think we need to confront him right now.”

John sighed. “And I was so looking forward to it.”

“Go ahead and start transporting people out, John,” Helen told him. “Everyone doesn’t need to go with me. I’ll make it fast.” After all, she had Olivia; she wasn’t going to chance her daughter being taken away from her again. And if there was any other way…

“We’re not leaving you,” Halia spoke up.

“What she said,” Henry said as he pointed a finger in Halia’s direction.

“Will’s office isn’t far from here anyways,” Declan pointed out.

Helen frowned. It would put them all in possible unneeded danger. With the increased guard force at the Sanctuary, she honestly didn’t know how many they would encounter between here and there. She supposed having reinforcements helped things though. She had to admit that at this moment she felt extremely blessed with this family, she knew what would make it better…if Ashley, James, and her father were there…and if Will, Kate, and Abby hadn’t seemed to have turned against her. She’d have to settle for this though…and right now that was enough.

“Let’s do this quickly then,” Helen said as she headed in the direction, but found herself being pushed towards the middle. Normally she wasn’t the one that needed protection, but Olivia definitely needed it.

. . .

Their trek to Will’s office was made quite a bit easier with the stunners. They had several guards…and Kate that they’d had to stun along the way. Having the reinforcements definitely made her feel safer and made things go much faster than it would have if she’d tried to infiltrate Will’s office on her own.

“Helen, what if you don’t want to know?” John asked as they approached the door.

“Better to know and be prepared,” Declan spoke up.

“That’s very true,” Henry agreed.

She understood that they only wanted to protect her, but she’d never one that needed much protecting. She always did the things that others couldn’t. She always pushed the boundaries. “I have to know,” she told John. Helen turned to him and passed Olivia to him. She’d honestly trust anyone with them with her, but she was still very conscious of the fact that John hadn’t been able to hold their daughter very much.

“Plus, the more people looking through the office, the faster we’ll uncover whatever Will’s plan is,” Bigfoot said.

Helen reached out and held the doorknob for a moment. She gave herself a moment to reconsider, just in case. What if John was right? But then Declan did have a point. If they knew, then they could be prepared. She’d much rather know rather than watch her back every second. Abby had said that whatever Will was up to had nothing to do with Olivia, but she had to be sure.

She turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. Declan moved in first, stunner in hand, he scanned the room and then turned to her and gave her a nod. Helen entered a bit hesitantly. She looked around and frowned. The walls were covered with papers.

“Wow…” Henry breathed.

Biggie grunted. “I’m going to have to repaint this room… He used the wrong tape.”

The walls surviving the papers being removed wasn’t what she was concerned about. Helen moved to the nearest paper and started to read it. It was then that she realized it some areas were layered. There were some with text and some with maps…and some with pictures. She stared closely at one of the pictures. “It can’t be,” she breathed.

“What is it?” John asked.

“I’m not sure yet,” she told him honestly.

“Doc…” Henry spoke up. He was standing at the far wall and was pointing at a picture in front of him. “You’re going to want to see this.”

Quickly, Helen crossed the room and she looked at the picture Henry had been pointing at. Her heart felt like it sped up and then came to a complete halt. “Dear God…” she breathed. Helen brought her hand up to her mouth and tried to remain calm. It couldn’t be. Tears flooded her eyes and blurred her vision.

“Helen?” John asked again but she couldn’t bring herself to answering him.

She pushed out everything around her and focused on the picture through her tears. Her hand gently touched the figure in the picture. It was then that she looked around and things started to make sense. This had been his project. The maps were locations, probably sightings. The pictures, he had people on the lookout.

Ashley.

Everything in that room. It had to all be about her. Helen felt a sudden weight of guilt. She’d looked for Ashley…she’d believed years ago…that Ashley wasn’t dead. And then finally, she had to let her go. She’d tried to move on and live as normally as she could, but it had definitely been a struggle. And now…now to see all of this information, the pictures…Ashley had to be alive. She thought that Ashley looked different in these pictures. Subtle differences. Her hair was longer and styled differently and somehow…she looked more grown up.

But was it Ashley?

The Ashley she raised and remembered?

Or was it the Ashley that the Cabal had designed?

Either way, she would push to save her daughter. This was a shock, surely, but she wouldn’t pass up this chance to bring together her family. Halia and Olivia still would have time to get to know their older sister and for that…she was sure that they could all be thankful for. And Henry…she thought. Henry would be so happy to have her back, he and Ashley had grown up together and she knew the loss had been felt just as deeply by him.

A small voice broke through her concentration. “What does this mean?” Halia asked.

“It’s your sister,” Helen spoke up and looked over to where Halia was touching another picture. “Ashley.” She turned to John and the others. “She’s alive…somewhere…” She found herself being pulled to John with his free arm as he tried to hold Olivia in the other. Helen wiped her tears against his shirt and felt so much more happiness than she thought she’d have felt.

“So…what was this all?” Declan asked.

“A distraction,” Tesla spoke up. “A badly choreographed one, at that.”

Was that all she’d been? A distraction? She had to agree with Nikola, if that was all it was, then there were better ways to go about things. Ways to distract (whoever needed to be distracted) without taking Olivia from her and keeping them apart. Helen still found that cruel, no matter what Will’s game was. Keeping her separated from her newborn was just uncalled for on so many levels.

“But Ashley’s out there?” Henry asked.

“That’s what all this…” Tesla said as he motioned around the room. “This insanity seems to be telling us.”

“She’s alive, John,” she breathed. “She’s alive.”

. . .

The End


End file.
